Finally, in December 2006, an agreement was reached to establish a new professional women's league, consisting of teams from Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., as well as an undetermined sixth city located somewhere in the Western United States.

[4] Originally planned to begin play in 2008, the launch of this new league, dubbed Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was subsequently pushed back to 2009.

[9] The Murphys would later claim that their motivation in founding the club was as an example to their daughter, in order to prove that there was a viable pathway for women in the United States to play professional soccer.

Sky Blue FC drafted Yael Averbuch, Meghan Schnur, Karen Bardsley, Christie Shaner, Julianne Sitch, Jen Buczkowski, Zhang Ouying, Mary Therese McDonnell, Mele French, and Fanta Cooper.

[15] Sky Blue FC kicked off its inaugural season on April 5, 2009, dropping a 2–0 decision to Los Angeles Sol at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey.

She had won five games and drawn three others in her twelve total matches before Christie Rampone was named the second interim of the year and third head coach overall by Marrone.

Sky Blue FC upended both Washington Freedom and Saint Louis Athletica to make the championship game against Los Angeles Sol.

[18] With two additional teams, Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence, joining the league for 2010, Sky Blue FC were destined to lose players from their championship-winning side.

Sky Blue FC found itself having some trouble tallying goals as the season progressed and held a 5–6–3 record when head coach Pauliina Miettinen was relieved of her duties.

After settling for three draws to conclude its sophomore campaign, Sky Blue FC finished the year in fifth place in the regular season standings and just missed the postseason.

The 2011 season marked the first at the helm by decorated women's soccer coach Jim Gabarra, who had spent the past decade with the Washington Freedom.

Also participating in the tournament were Russian side FK Energiya and Danish club Fortuna Hjørring (who Sky Blue FC defeated in a penalty shootout in the semifinals).

Sky Blue FC kicked off the WPS regular season on April 10, 2011, at Yurcak Field, playing the Philadelphia Independence to a 2–2 draw.

For the 2013 season, Sky Blue were allocated seven players from North American federations, including Kelley O'Hara, Jillian Loyden, Christie Rampone, and Sophie Schmidt.

[22] The team's form later slumped in the second half of the regular season, though Sky Blue ultimately finished in 4th place, earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Following the 2015 season, head coach Jim Gabarra reached an agreement with Sky Blue to be released from his contract, having agreed terms to join the Washington Spirit.

[29] Sky Blue FC opened its 2016 season at Seattle Reign in thrilling fashion on Sunday, April 17, 2016, winning 2–1 and handing two-time defending NWSL Shield winner its first-ever home loss at Memorial Stadium.

The Reign were unbeaten at Memorial Stadium over the previous two seasons[30] Sky Blue FC started six players who had never logged a single NWSL minute before that night.

[35] Holly's departure was followed by veteran defender Christie Pearce announcing she would miss the remainder of the season due to injury on August 18.

The training facilities lacked running water, working toilets, and showers, leading players to take post-game ice baths in garbage cans.

[61][62] The club also took steps to overhaul their roster, bringing in thirteen new players,[62] such as Mallory Pugh, McCall Zerboni, and Margaret Purce, for what was described as a "new-look Sky Blue.

[66] Veteran defender Caprice Dydasco, new arrival Pugh, and star midfielder Carli Lloyd were ruled out of the Challenge Cup through injury.

[68] These absences, coupled with the extensive changes that had been made to the club in a short space of time, led to Sky Blue entering the Challenge Cup as "the true underdog".

[70][69] Following a 0–0 draw with the OL Reign in their opening game of the tournament and a 1–0 defeat to Utah Royals, Sky Blue recorded a 2–0 win over the Houston Dash, which saw them rise to 2nd in the table.

Sky Blue opened the Fall Series with a 2–1 victory over the Washington Spirit at Segra Field on September 5,[77] though this was followed by a heavy 4–1 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars.

[84] In September 2021, former Sky Blue player Nadia Nadim accused management of forging her signature on a contract extension so they could trade her to the Portland Thorns in early 2016.

[87] On July 29, 2022, WNBA player Sue Bird joined Gotham FC's ownership group as a minority owner, consultant, and advisor.

Starting in April 2017, Sky Blue FC games were streamed exclusively by Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers.

The announcers were Corey Cohen on play-by-play and Dan Lauletta on color commentary with Evan Davis hosting the halftime show and NJ Discover handling production.

[126] The NWSL announced that it has entered into a three-year media agreement with CBS Sports and the video game-oriented streaming service Twitch on March 11, 2020.