HARRISON, N.J. (March 24, 2021) – The New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer announced today the club’s 2021 regular season schedule. The 2021 MLS season will feature a full 34-match schedule leading up to Decision Day on Sunday, November 7.
The Red Bulls are set to welcome a limited number of fans back to the arena to begin the 2021 season. Specific protocols and information on health and safety changes to RBA, in-line with MLS guidelines, applicable state law and guidance from local health authorities, will be released prior to the home opener on April 17. New York Red Bulls Red Members will have priority access to tickets for all regular season matches, and will be contacted directly in the coming days with additional details.
Additional details, including local broadcast information, will be announced in the coming weeks.
After welcoming fans back to Red Bull Arena on April 17 with a match against Sporting Kansas City, and traveling to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy in week two, the Red Bulls will face only Eastern Conference opponents for the rest of the year.
In the remaining 32 games, the Red Bulls will play New York City FC, Philadelphia Union, D.C. United, New England Revolution, Columbus Crew SC and Chicago Fire FC three times each. New York will play the other seven Eastern Conference teams, which includes Nashville SC for 2021, twice each.
At the end of the regular season, the top seven teams from each conference will qualify for the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. Click Here for the 2021 regular season competition structure. MLS Cup will be played on Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. ET and air live on ABC, UniMás, TSN and TVA Sports.
The Red Bulls will host cross-town rivals NYCFC twice, and play once at Yankee Stadium. The rivalry renews on August 21 in a nationally-televised match on FS1 as part of Heineken Rivalry Week. Both of the matches at Red Bull Arena will be nationally-televised, as the season series concludes on October 17 on ESPN. The Red Bulls will visit Yankee Stadium on Saturday, September 25.
The longest home stand of the 2021 season will feature four straight matches from Wednesday August 18 through Saturday, September 11, with Columbus, New York City, Chicago and D.C. all making trips to RBA.
New York’s longest road trip of the season will feature three away matches from June 27 to July 8, with matches at New England, Atlanta United FC, and Orlando City SC.
The Red Bulls will have two of the last three matches at home, hosting CF Montréal on October 30 and Atlanta United on November 3 before traveling to Nashville for Decision Day on November 7.
In addition to all New York Red Bulls matches, Red Bull Arena will again serve as a home venue for NYCFC, who will play up to eight matches at RBA due to conflicts between the availability of Yankee Stadium and MLS’ standardized playing windows to avoid fixture congestion throughout the season.
Additional Notes about the 2021 MLS Schedule
- With a focus on the health and safety of all players and staff, MLS clubs will continue to travel on charter flights during the pandemic. In an effort to minimize travel and time on the road, the number of regional matches has been increased and clubs will travel the day of the game whenever possible.
- MLS will break during the June FIFA international window, as well as July 9-16 around the opening of the Concacaf Gold Cup. MLS clubs were presented with the option to play during the September FIFA international window, with 14 clubs electing to do so.
- Due to travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada, the three Canadian clubs will play MLS regular season matches in the following U.S. cities and venues until a return to their home markets is permitted:
- CF Montreal: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Inter Miami CF Stadium
- Toronto FC: Orlando, Fla.; Exploria Stadium
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Sandy, Utah; Rio Tinto Stadium
