Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will christen their new home on April 4, when the club hosts its first Major League Soccer match at the still-rising Miami Freedom Park – a marquee moment on the league schedule unveiled Thursday.
The 2026 MLS season kicks off Feb. 21 and ends Nov. 7, marking the league’s final year under its traditional February-to-November format. A shorter transition season is planned for 2027 before MLS shifts to a summer-to-spring calendar for the 2027-28 campaign to better align with global leagues.
Inter Miami will start the season with five straight road games as construction crews put the finishing touches on the 25,000-seat stadium near Miami International Airport. It remains unclear whether the venue will host preseason or soft-opening events before the April debut.
Miami’s home opener will pit Messi’s side against Austin FC in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The match will also showcase the club’s long-term commitment to its superstar after Messi signed a three-year extension that keeps him in Miami through 2028, ensuring he will lead the team into its new era at Freedom Park.
Miami Freedom Park’s opening will begin a planned run of three new MLS stadiums in a three-season span, with New York City FC’s Etihad Park set to open in 2027 and a new downtown stadium for Chicago Fire FC slated to open in 2028.
There will be a nearly two-month break for the FIFA World Cup, with no matches scheduled between May 25 and July 16.
Among the final pre-break matches is a doubleheader on Fox on May 24, with Inter Miami facing Philadelphia followed by LAFC against Seattle.
The MLS season will resume shortly before the end of the World Cup; MLS has rivalry games scheduled for July 16 and 17, ahead of 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 regions, with no blackouts and – in a change – no additional subscription required. Some MLS matches will also air on Fox networks in the U.S., along with TSN and RDS in Canada.
There will be 15 matches on the season’s opening weekend, Feb. 21 and 22. Among them: St. Louis City SC hosting Charlotte FC on Feb. 21, before FC Cincinnati takes on Atlanta United in the return of coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
Also that night, Messi and Inter Miami open the season against LAFC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Among the Feb. 22 slate: the LA Galaxy hosting New York City FC for Sunday Night Soccer on Apple TV, followed by the Seattle Sounders and Colorado Rapids on FS1.
The MLS All-Star Game will be held in Charlotte on July 29, one day after the skills challenge. The opponent for the All-Star Game has not been announced.
The league will observe FIFA’s November window before opening the playoffs, allowing the postseason to run without interruption starting Nov. 18.
The league has not revealed the full postseason schedule.
