Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride's 2024 Shield-Championship double was one of the most dominant seasons in NWSL history, and it reshaped the league's power structure. After years of languishing near the bottom of the table - including a canceled 2020 season and multiple rebuilding campaigns - the Pride assembled a roster that overwhelmed the competition, posting the best regular-season record in league history before steamrolling through the playoffs to lift the trophy. It was a transformation so complete that it rewrote the narrative of what the Orlando franchise could be.

Heading into 2026, the Pride are no longer underdogs. They are the standard against which every other NWSL club measures itself. The challenge now is sustaining that level in a league that has never seen a true repeat champion in back-to-back years. The roster has evolved through careful reinvestment, and the club's front office has shown the kind of strategic discipline required to stay at the top. Playing at Inter&Co Stadium alongside MLS's Orlando City SC, the Pride benefit from a shared infrastructure that gives them resources uncommon in women's professional sports.

With the 2026 Women's World Cup in Australia on the horizon, several Pride players are expected to feature prominently for their national teams, raising the club's international profile even further. Orlando enters the 2026 NWSL season as a club that has tasted glory and is hungry for more - the question is whether anyone in an increasingly competitive 16-team league can stop them from building a dynasty.