Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play their first Major League Soccer match at their new stadium on April 4, one of the highlights of the league's schedule unveiled on Thursday.
The 2026 MLS regular season begins on February 21 and runs through November 7. This will be the last season in the February to November model, with a shortened season planned for 2027 and then new summer-spring calendar so that the 2027–28 campaign is more closely aligned with other world leagues.
Inter Miami will open the season with five straight away games, presumably allowing work to be completed at Miami Freedom Park, the team's still-under-construction home near Miami International Airport. It is not yet clear whether the stadium will host pre-season or other matches before April 4.
Inter Miami's first home game will be against Austin FC, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the new 25,000-seat stadium. In recent weeks, Messi signed a three-year extension to stay with the team until 2028, a deal that ensured he would – as the team had long hoped – be there for the start of their run at the new facility.
The opening of Freedom Park in Miami will kick off the planned launch of three new MLS stadiums over three seasons: New York City FC's Etihad Park stadium will open in 2027, and Chicago Fire's new city center stadium is scheduled to open in 2028.
There will be an almost two-month break in the 2026 World Cup, with no matches scheduled from May 25 to July 16.
The final matches before the break include a doubleheader on Fox on May 24 when Inter Miami faces Philadelphia, followed by LAFC against Seattle.
The MLS season will resume shortly before the end of the World Cup; MLS has several back-to-back games scheduled for July 16 and 17, before the third-place match on July 18 and the World Cup final on July 19.
All 510 MLS regular-season matches next season will be available on Apple TV in more than 100 countries and territories, with no outages and, in particular, no additional subscription required. Select MLS matches will also be available on Fox networks in the United States, as well as TSN and RDS networks in Canada.
The first weekend of the season, February 21 and 22, will feature 15 matches. Among them: St. Louis City FC hosts Charlotte on Feb. 21, followed by FC Cincinnati facing Atlanta United as part of the return of coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
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That same evening: Messi and Inter Miami open the season against LAFC at the famed Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Among the lineup for Feb. 22: LA Galaxy host New York City FC on Sunday Night Soccer on Apple TV, followed by Seattle Sounders and Colorado Rapids playing on FS1.
The MLS All-Star Game will take place in Charlotte on July 29, one day after the skills test. The MLS All-Star Game opponent has not yet been announced.
The league will monitor FIFA's November window before the playoffs open, allowing for an uninterrupted postseason starting on November 18.
The league has not released its full postseason schedule.
