Photo © Pixattitude | Dreamstime.com
The Women’s National Football Conference, a semi-pro tackle league that began play in 2019 with 14 regular teams and one exhibition team, will kick off its sixth season March 29 with three new teams and a boost from activities surrounding Super Bowl LIX.
The Chicago Winds, the Atlanta Truth and the Jersey Shore Wave will make their debuts this year. In fact, the Winds will host the Wave at the University of Chicago’s Stagg Field in the inaugural game for both teams.
“It is a personal ambition of mine to drive equity for women broadly,” Wave owner and WNFC board member Dawn Sherman said in January. “Owning a professional women’s tackle football team gives me the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the important role of women in sports and to address the critical issue of pay gap for women who compete and give their all just like men. General awareness, recognition, game attendance and pay all continue to lag behind sports played by men. It is time for all of this to change.”
Sherman’s remarks came just weeks before Got Her Back (the official charity of the WNFC) and ReNEW Schools (an organization committed to elevating underperforming schools) held a free Girls’ Football and Empowerment Camp at Goretti Playground in New Orleans on the eve of Super Bowl LIX. Open to girls between the ages of 8 and 18, the Feb. 8 camp addressed a critical challenge, according to league officials, who cited research indicating 45% of girls drop out of sports by age 14 due to low body confidence.
“With over 100 colleges expected to offer varsity flag football programs by 2028, representing nearly 2,000 scholarship opportunities, initiatives like this camp play a vital role in preparing young athletes to seize these opportunities,” they said.
The camp also marked the official launch of the WNFC’s and Got Her Back’s partnership with beauty brand Dove through the Body Confident Sport program, which is designed to help girls feel comfortable, confident and empowered to participate in sports. The Body Confident Sport program is a cornerstone of the Dove Self-Esteem Project, which is the largest provider of body confidence education globally and aims to positively impact 250 million young lives by 2030.
“At Got Her Back, we believe every girl deserves to feel confident, empowered and capable, on and off the field,” said Odessa Jenkins, founder of Got Her Back and chairwoman of the WNFC. “This camp isn’t just about football; it’s about showing black and Hispanic girls the endless possibilities within their reach. As more opportunities arise in football, it is critical that girls of color are not left behind.”
More than 1,000 athletes play in the WNFC, according to the league’s website, with games typically held at high school and college stadiums and played under a slightly modified set of NCAA rules. The Jersey Shore Wave play in recently renovated Hinchliffe Stadium, which was home to the New York Black Yankees of baseball’s Negro Leagues. Some teams, such as the Oregon Ravens, even have reported sellout crowds.
After the eight-week season, playoffs are scheduled for June 5-8, with the 2025 IX Cup Championship Weekend happening June 20-22. For its entire existence, the Texas Elite Spartans have competed in the title game — winning it all every season except 2024, when the Mississippi Panthers completed their perfect season. Since 2022, the championship game has been played at Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.
(The league’s Wikipedia page includes nearly a dozen former teams from such cities such as New Orleans, Philadelphia and San Diego, as well as Nebraska, North Florida and Alabama.)
Last season, the WNFC achieved its highest viewership via international streaming company DAZN and the FOX Sports-backed but now-defunct CaffeineTV. Viewership peaked at 11 million total streams throughout the 2024 season, and Championship Weekend reached more than 3 million people through streaming and social media activities over three days.
In November, the league announced it has partnered with the streaming service Victory+ to be the exclusive streaming home for WNFC football. Every game of the 2025 season will stream for FREE on Victory+. The league also is introducing a premier Saturday Night Showcase — a flagship production that is slated to deliver big matchups featuring in-depth storytelling that spotlights players, coaches and fans.
“Women’s football is next,” Jenkins told AwfulAnnouncing.com last year. “With the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, college scholarships, NIL deals and more, women’s sports are ready to have stars who wear helmets and lay the boom! The most exciting sport in the world will be the thing that takes women’s sports to the next level, and I believe that the WNFC will lead the way.”
About the Author
