The 2024 W League Playoffs are right around the corner, where 16 teams will compete for the third-ever W League title. A quarter of the spots have already been clinched, while the remaining spots will be secured in the coming days. 

Here’s a breakdown of this year’s playoff structure: 

Playoffs qualifications: 

Four teams from the four conferences (Central, Eastern, Southern, Western) will make up the 16 teams in the playoffs. Each of the 12 divisional winners earn a spot, and one team from each conference gets a wild card spot. 

Central Conference: Top team from the Great Lakes, Heartland and Valley Divisions advance. A wild card bid will be awarded to the team with the highest points per game remaining from the Great Lakes and Heartland Divisions. 

Eastern Conference: Top team from the Metropolitan, Mid Atlantic and South Atlantic Divisions advance. A wild card bid will be awarded to the best second place team amongst the three divisions. 

Southern Conference: Top team from the South Central, Southeast and Lone Star Divisions advance. A wild card bid will be awarded to the team with the highest points per game remaining from the South Central and Southeast Divisions. 

Western Conference: Top team from the NorCal, Northwest and Mountain Divisions advance. A wild card bid will be awarded to the second-place team from the NorCal Division. 

Playoffs seeding: 

In the Conference Semifinals, the four teams from each conference are seeded 1-4 based on points per game with goal differential as the tiebreaker. The #1 seed plays the #4 seed, and the #2 seed plays the #3 seed. The W League will try to avoid scheduling divisional opponents in the first round. The winners will move on to the Conference Finals. 

Playoffs hosts: 

This year’s playoffs will bring back regional pods for the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals. One participating team will host all three matches for its respective conference. Playoffs hosts are determined via a bid process conducted by the League.  

Matchups, game times, locations and ticketing will be announced at a later date. Host sites for League Semifinals and Finals will be announced as the playoffs progress. 

Playoffs schedule: 

• July 5-7: Conference Semifinals & Finals 

• July 12-14: W League Semifinals  

• July 19-21: W League Final 

All matches will be streamed live on SportsEngine Play. Stay up to date by following the W League on Twitter and Instagram.