In just over a month, the 26th edition of MLS is set to get underway, and fans all over the world will be looking forward to following their favorite teams. There will be a couple of new teams looking forward to testing their skills against the more established outfits as well.
For viewers in the United States, they'll have quite a few options to stay on top of the action over the course of the 2021 MLS campaign. Network giants ABC and ESPN have been tasked with providing coverage, and they will be carrying nearly 400 matches between the season's start in April and its end in December.
This includes a much-awaited clash between David Beckham's Inter Miami versus LA Galaxy, the team he once played for, on Sunday, April 18th at 3 pm EST. The game will be featured on both ABC and ESPN Deportes. Newly formed Nashville SC will make an appearances on Sunday, May 2nd at 1 pm EST when they host Inter Miami; English-speaking fans can tune in on ESPN while Spanish-speaking viewers can catch the same game on ESPN Deportes.
There are also some interesting happenings to note throughout the season. Some include:
- El Tráfico: This newly-formed, yet highly-anticipated derby for MLS fans will be featured on ESPN. City rivals LA Galaxy and LA FC will lock horns at 8 pm EST on Sunday, October 3rd.
- Two clubs who've made history - Seattle Sounders and Atlanta United - also are the two clubs who are featured the most times (six) on ESPN and ABC throughout the season.
- MLS Heineken Rivalry Week: Five MLS Heineken Rivalry Week matches will be on tap between Friday, August 20th and Sunday, August 29th. This action-packed week starts with LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 10 pm and ends with Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers at 10:30 pm on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
- MLS Cup: For the 23rd time in 26 seasons, the MLS Cup will be featured on ESPN or an affiliated network. ABC will be hosting the event on Saturday, December 11th at 3 pm.
Below you'll find the upcoming schedule of the MLS matches scheduled to appear on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes. All matches will also be streamed live on the ESPN App.
Date |
Time (ET) |
Match |
Networks |
Sun, Apr 18 |
3 p.m. |
Inter Miami CF vs. LA Galaxy |
ABC, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Apr 24 |
6 p.m. |
Los Angeles FC vs. Seattle Sounders |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, May 2 |
1 p.m. |
Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami CF |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, May 8 |
6 p.m. |
Orlando City SC vs. New York City FC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, May 9 |
1 p.m. |
Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United |
ABC, ESPN Deportes |
|
3 p.m. |
Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders |
ABC, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, May 16 |
6 p.m. |
New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew |
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, May 22 |
3:30 p.m. |
Portland Timbers vs. LA Galaxy |
ABC, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Jun 20 |
2 p.m. |
Atlanta United vs. Philadelphia Union |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Jun 26 |
5 p.m. |
Sporting Kansas City vs. Los Angeles FC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Jul 3 |
5 p.m. |
Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Jul 17 |
5 p.m. |
Atlanta United vs. New England Revolution |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Jul 18 |
4 p.m. |
Minnesota United vs. Seattle Sounders |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Thu, Jul 22 |
7:30 p.m. |
Orlando City SC vs. Philadelphia Union |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
|
9:30 p.m. |
Austin FC vs. Seattle Sounders |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Jul 24 |
3:30 p.m. |
Atlanta United vs. Columbus Crew |
ABC, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Jul 30 |
8 p.m. |
Orlando City SC vs. Atlanta United |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
|
10 p.m. |
LA Galaxy vs. Portland Timbers |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Aug 15 |
4 p.m. |
Atlanta United vs. Los Angeles FC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Fri, Aug 20 |
10 p.m. |
LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sat, Aug 21 |
4 p.m. |
Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Fri, Aug 27 |
6:30 p.m. |
Columbus Crew vs. Cincinnati FC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
|
8:30 p.m. |
Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami CF |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Aug 29 |
10:30 p.m. |
Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Sep 19 |
4 p.m. |
Philadelphia Union vs. Orlando City SC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Sep 26 |
TBD. |
Austin FC vs. LA Galaxy |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Oct 3 |
8 p.m. |
LA Galaxy vs. Los Angeles FC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Oct 17 |
1 p.m. |
New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Oct 24 |
4 p.m. |
Austin FC vs. Houston Dynamo |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Tue, Oct 26 |
10:30 p.m. |
Los Angeles FC vs. Seattle Sounders |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Oct. 31 |
TBD |
Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
Sun, Nov 7 |
3:30 p.m. |
TBD |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
*Please be advised that all schedules are subject to modification.
The 2021 MLS season is nearly here! Make sure you don't miss out on a single minute of the action from the upcoming 2021 MLS campaign by bookmarking our bespoke MLS match page.