Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play the first match of the regular season in a new stadium on April 4

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play their first Major League Soccer (MLS) home match on April 4 at their new stadium – Miami Freedom Park – one of the highlights of the league’s schedule, which was unveiled on Thursday.

The 2026 MLS regular season begins on February 21 and runs through November 7.

It will be the final season in the February-to-November model, after which a shortened 2027 season will be followed by the new summer-to-spring calendar for the 2027-2028 season to better align with other global competitions.

Inter Miami opens the season with five consecutive away games, which will likely allow the finishing touches to be put on Miami Freedom Park – the team’s still-under-construction home near Miami International Airport. It is not yet clear whether pre-season or other matches will take place at the stadium before April 4.

The home opener for Inter Miami will be against Austin FC, starting at 7:30 PM in the new 25,000-seat stadium. Messi signed a three-year extension in recent weeks to stay with the team until 2028, and the closing of that deal confirmed that he would – as the team had long hoped – be present for the start of their run at the new facility.

The opening of Miami Freedom Park kicks off a planned series of three new MLS stadiums over three seasons, with New York City FC’s Etihad Park opening in 2027 and a new downtown stadium for Chicago Fire FC opening in 2028.

There will be a break of almost two months for the FIFA World Cup, with no matches between May 25 and July 16.

Among the final pre-break games: a doubleheader on FOX on May 24 with Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia, followed by LAFC vs. Seattle.

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The MLS season will resume shortly before the end of the World Cup; MLS has a number of rivalry matches 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 will be available on Apple TV in more than 100 countries and regions next season, without interruption and – for a change – without an additional subscription. Some MLS matches will also be available on FOX networks in the US, along with TSN and RDS in Canada.

There are 15 games during the opening weekend of the season, February 21 and 22. Among them: St. Louis City SC plays host to Charlotte FC on Feb. 21 before FC Cincinnati takes on Atlanta United in coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s return.

Also that evening: Messi and Inter Miami open the season against LAFC at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

On the February 22 schedule: LA Galaxy hosts New York City FC for Sunday Night Soccer on Apple TV, followed by Seattle Sounders FC and Colorado Rapids on FS1.

The MLS All-Star Game will take place in Charlotte on July 29, one day after the skills challenge. The opponent for the MLS All-Star Game has yet to be announced.

The league will observe FIFA’s November window before opening the play-offs, allowing the post-season to take place without interruption from November 18.

The league has not announced the full postseason schedule.

Published on November 21, 2025