The World Soccer Talk Chicago Red Stars TV schedule has each match for the Second City’s premier women’s side.
Originally one of the founding members of the WPS league, the Red Stars were one of the teams that survived and made the move to the NWSL in 2013.
Chicago Red Stars on TV and streaming: U.S. only:
Chicago Red Stars vs. Washington Spirit (NWSL)
Bay FC vs. Chicago Red Stars (NWSL)
Founded: 2006 (First NWSL Season 2013)
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Manager: Chris Petrucelli
Best NWSL finish: Runners-up (2019, 2021)
Other Titles: USASA National Women’s Open (2012)
Starting in 2024, the NWSL has a four-year national broadcast rights deal split between ESPN, CBS, Amazon, and Scripps Sports (ION).
Friday night games each week will feature on Amazon’s Prime Video service. Prime video will also carry one of the league’s playoff quarterfinals.
The CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network will air a minimum of 21 games throughout the year, including a quarterfinal, semifinal, and the NWSL Championship all on the main CBS network. Games on over-the-air CBS will also stream on Paramount+, the network’s subscription video on demand and live streaming service.
20 games will be televised on ESPN platforms (either ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPN Deportes). All of these games will be simulcast live on the streaming service ESPN+.
And finally, 50 regular season matches are set to be aired on the ION TV network (available over-the-air and on most cable/satellite plans) as part pf 25 Saturday night doubleheaders.
The remaining regular season matches not part of the national TV schedule will be streamed directly by the NWSL.
The Red Stars are one of the women’s clubs in the NWSL that actually started off in a different league. In 2006, Chicago was named as one of the founding teams in Women’s Professional Soccer, a league that kicked off in 2009. The team got their name in 2008, when “Red Stars” was announced. The name and crest are a reference to the Chicago city flag, which features four red six-pointed stars.
Peter Wilt, who was also instrumental in the formation of the Chicago Fire men’s team, and later Forward Madison, Indy Eleven, Chicago House, and the NISA league, was the team’s first CEO.
Since their inception, the Red Stars have played mostly at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, a suburb of Chicago. The soccer venue was originally built for the MLS Fire, but they have since moved out, leaving the Red Stars as the main tenant.
Their first season was a disappointment, finishing sixth of seven teams in WPS and missing the playoffs. 2010 was a repeat, again finishing sixth. This would be their last season in WPS, as they left for financial reasons. Chicago joined the Women’s Premier Soccer League for the 2011 campaign. For WPS, 2011 turned out to be the final season of the league.
In 2012, the Red Stars, along with fellow former WPS teams Boston and Western New York, formed the WPSL Elite League. Chicago went to the final but lost to Western New York. They did win the 2012 USASA Women’s Cup. Remarkably this was using only half their roster as the other half was playing in the final regular season WPSL game at the same time.
In 2013, Chicago again switched leagues, this time to the new NWSL. After two rough seasons to start, the club made the playoffs every season from 2015-2022. The regular season was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, but the Red Stars did finish runners-up in the Challenge Cup competition that year.
They’ve not yet won a league title but did make the final in both 2019 and 2021.
In 2023, a group led by Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts purchased the club.
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