Charlotte FC now knows who and when it will play in its first-ever MLS match
Charlotte FC won’t play on its home turf for its first-ever match in Major League Soccer, but it’ll take on a conference rival. The city’s expansion team will play D.C. United in Washington, D.C. at Audi Field on Feb. 26, 2022.
Kickoff for that match on MLS’s 2022 opening weekend is 6 p.m. The club said that broadcast details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Charlotte FC will face the Los Angeles Galaxy the following weekend, on March 5, for the team’s home opener, in which the club is looking to break an MLS attendance record. Charlotte FC president Nick Kelly previously told The Observer that he expects Bank of America Stadium to host a sell-out crowd of more than 74,000 fans for that match. Upper-level tickets went on sale Monday starting at $15 for the home opener against a Western Conference team.
For the season opener, Charlotte FC will stay on the East Coast and face a rival an hour away by plane. D.C. United missed the 2021 playoffs, finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte FC will play all Eastern Conference teams twice during the 2022 MLS season and will face eight of the 14 Western Conference teams. Nashville SC is moving to the Western Conference next year.
The regular season will close on Decision Day on Oct. 9 with the 2022 MLS Cup to be held Nov. 5.
Major League Soccer expects to announce the full match schedule for the 2022 season by the end of this year.
