It is the culmination of the NWSL playoffs, which is contested by the teams with the best record in the preceding regular season.

The first NWSL Championship was held at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester, New York, on August 31, 2013.

Tobin Heath and Christine Sinclair helped lead Portland Thorns FC to a 2–0 victory over NWSL Shield winners Western New York Flash.

[3] The 2021 NWSL Championship set an attendance record for the league final with 25,011 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California; in the retirement game of two legends of the sport, Megan Rapinoe's Reign lost 2–1 to Ali Krieger's NJ/NY Gotham FC.

The first NWSL Championship trophy, used from 2013 to 2022, was a five-sided piece of silver metal that depicted the league's logo—a silhouette of a woman kicking a soccer ball; the golden soccer ball was cutout from the silver shape.