CHICAGO – In an effort to ensure player and fan safety, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced today new kickoff times for 23 games throughout the remainder of the 2017 season. The Chicago Red Stars will kick off against Washington Spirit (June 17) and Orlando Pride (July 22) at 2:50 p.m. CT, instead of the initial 3:00 p.m. CT Start time. The new schedule reduces the number of games during times of the day where potential environmental conditions such as high temperatures, humidity, and solar radiation would be more prevalent throughout the summer months in the United States.

The NWSL is also implementing increased measures for Hydrations Breaks and new guidelines for Extreme Heat, including procedures for match delays, effective immediately. Click here to view the complete guidelines.

“The safety of everyone involved with the execution of NWSL matches, including players, referees and fans, is paramount,” NWSL Managing Director of Operations Amanda Duffy said. “These are important measures that will help to ensure the safest environment possible at all league matches, and we will continue to evaluate steps that can be taken in the future.”

After a successful implementation on June 3, the NWSL Game of the Week on Lifetime will now be listed at 3:30 p.m. ET on the schedule with kickoff slated for 3:50 p.m. ET to accommodate for Hydration Breaks. In addition, the NWSL has released the other 4 p.m. ET games, providing teams not part of the Game of the Week more flexibility to reschedule games into the late afternoon and evenings.

See below for a complete list of new kickoff times:
* = To be determine Game of the Week on Lifetime

— www.NWSLsoccer.com —