COLUMBUS – Major League Soccer announced today the Columbus Crew’s 34-game schedule for the 2026 regular season. The first club in MLS history, the Crew open their 31st season with back-to-back Western Conference road matches at Portland (Saturday, Feb. 21, 10:30 p.m. ET) and Sporting Kansas City (Saturday, Feb. 28, 8:30 p.m. ET) before hosting Chicago Fire FC for the home opener on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Single-match tickets for all Black & Gold home games are now on sale at ticketmaster.com, with a Fee Free Weekend through Sunday, Nov. 23 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Fans looking to secure their seat for the March 7 home opener can purchase the 2026 Home Opener Holiday Pack, which includes a Crew Cat Nutcracker and two tickets for just $129. Holiday Pack information can be found at www.columbuscrew.com/tickets/promotions.
Crew fans will once again enjoy marquee matchups and unforgettable moments at the Club’s world-class stadium in downtown Columbus. Over the last 68 home matches across all competitions, the Black & Gold have won 41 and only lost eight contests (19 draws), dating back to the 2023 season. The team also owns 31 home wins and a +53 goal differential in regular season contests, the second most in MLS during that span.
For the second consecutive year, the Crew will celebrate Crewsmas playing longtime Eastern Conference foes Chicago Fire FC on March 7. Columbus – who owns a perfect 4-0 record in home openers since 2022 – is unbeaten in its past 16 regular season home matches against the Fire (12-0-4), dating back to 2013.
Continuing soccer’s hottest rivalry, the Black & Gold’s first duel in the Hell is Real Derby against FC Cincinnati will take place on Saturday, July 25 at 7 p.m. The away leg is on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
In addition to all Crew and MLS matches being available through Apple TV, the Crew are set for national TV broadcasts on FS1 vs. Nashville SC (Saturday, March 14, 6 p.m.) and the home leg of the Cincinnati series.
Columbus is slated for four Sunday games in 2026 – vs. Orlando City SC (April 12, 7 p.m.), vs. Atlanta United (May 24, 5 p.m.), Inter Miami CF (Sept. 27, 7 p.m.) and at FC Cincinnati (Oct. 18, 7 p.m. Continuing this season, MLS and Apple TV are broadcasting a featured game on Sunday evenings with enhanced production and dedicated studio programming.
The Crew conclude the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 7 with a 4 p.m. kickoff at Chicago for Decision Day.
Following Decision Day, the league will observe the November FIFA window before beginning one month of uninterrupted Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs action, culminating in Major League Soccer’s championship match, 2026 MLS Cup presented by Audi. The complete postseason schedule will be announced at a later date.
All 30 MLS teams will play a 34-game regular season – 17 home and 17 away matches. The Crew have home and away fixtures against each Eastern Conference team and one contest against six Western Conference opponents.
As North America welcomes the world for FIFA World Cup 2026, MLS will pause league play after matches on May 24, ahead of the FIFA mandatory player report date on May 25 and before resuming on July 16.
Beginning in 2026, all MLS matches will be available to stream for Apple TV subscribers at no additional cost. Fans can watch every regular-season match, the annual Leagues Cup tournament, the MLS All-Star Game, the Michelob Ultra Campeones Cup, the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and more — with an Apple TV subscription, which will be included as part of 2026 full-season ticket packages with MLS clubs.
Select MLS matches will also be available on the FOX family of networks in the United States and TSN and RDS in Canada.
