Austin FC's 2024 season starts at home, plays in-state rivals 3 times each for Copa Tejas
The club released its entire 34-match schedule Wednesday and features 28 matches against Western Conference opponents with six matches against teams from the Eastern Conference.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC is hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 2023 campaign and will start things anew at home for the 2024 season.
The club released its entire 34-match schedule Wednesday and features 28 matches against Western Conference opponents with six matches against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Verde and Black's season opener is also its home opener, a 7:30 p.m. tilt with Minnesota United on Feb. 24. The battle for Copa Tejas gets kicked up a notch with three matches apiece against Lone Star State rivals Dallas and Houston. The regular season ending on Oct. 19, otherwise known as Decision Day when the playoff field is set. Austin hosts the Colorado Rapids on Decision Day, so perhaps a playoff spot will be on the line at Q2 Stadium.
For the first time in franchise history, Austin FC will play the Philadelphia Union and NYCFC. Both matches are scheduled for Q2 Stadium with the Union coming to town March 16 and NYCFC on July 6.
The bulk of Austin FC's matches are on Saturdays throughout the season. They'll play 27 on Saturdays with six on Wednesdays and a lone Sunday match April 14 at St. Louis City.
The Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring MLS and LigaMX teams to see who the best club team in North America is, will return. That means the MLS schedule will go on hiatus from July 26-August 25.
MLS announced Dec. 15 that the league's first teams wouldn't participate in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but the United States Soccer Federation rejected that idea, saying that would violate US Soccer's Pro League Standards. MLS planned to enter its Next Pro League teams into the tournament.
The 2024 MLS season starts Feb. 21, the earliest it ever has, with Inter Miami's Lionel Messi as the main attraction. Inter Miami takes on Real Salt Lake in Miami at 7 p.m. CT with the "MLS is Back" weekend Feb. 24-25.