messi-46.jpg
Getty Images

The Major League Soccer 2024 season schedule is out and it is quite an opening week for Tata Martino, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. The Herons will kick off the season in the earliest start in league history on Wednesday, Feb. 21 hosting Real Salt Lake at DRV PNK stadium. It's a standalone match to help highlight the start of the league's 29th season but the Herons will then need to go right on the road as the league opens its standard week one slate between February 24-25. 

They'll face the Los Angeles Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 25 as they'll have a compressed schedule to start the season. With a preseason schedule that sees Miami play matches in Saudi Arabia, they also enter Concacaf Champions Cup play on March 7 as they await their round of 16 opponent. 

The reigning MLS champions, the Columbus Crew, will open their season with a repeat of their playoff series against Atlanta United on Feb. 24. Another important date in the schedule is that El Trafico between the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC will take place at the Rose Bowl on July 4 for the second year running. Each team will play 34 matches with 17 home and 17 away with the league continuing to play most matches on Saturdays and Wednesdays with stacked local start times of 7:30 p.m.

Other important dates

  • MLS All-Star Game in Columbus: Wednesday, July 24
  • MLS Cup rematch between LAFC and Columbus Crew: Saturday, July 13
  • MLS Rivalry Week: May 11-18
  • Leagues Cup: July 26-Aug. 24
  • MLS Decision Day: Saturday, Oct. 19
  • MLS Cup: Saturday, Dec. 7

Open Cup decisions

While the league schedule has dropped, one important part that is absent from the other important dates is when MLS clubs will enter the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. While the decision was made by the league to pull first teams out of the completion and replace them with MLS Next Pro sides, that has been denied by U.S. Soccer meaning that at this stage it is unknown what part the American top flight will play in the longest running competition in the country. Running for 105 years, only skipping two seasons due to COVID, the U.S. Open Cup has been synonymous with American soccer but at this time it won't include clubs from Major League Soccer.

Travel travel and more travel

Inter Miami will be racking up frequent flier miles which presents quite the challenge for their roster. Four key players are 32 or older in Sergiy Kryvstsov, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquts, and Messi with another on the way in the form of 36-year-old Luis Suarez. With a preseason that will span multiple continents and a start to the season that spans more than 2500 miles, Martino will need to ensure that his team doesn't pick up injuries before their season gets started. Not having Messi available for the end of the season hurt the Herons in their chase for a playoff place as well as their chance at the U.S. Open Cup title so they'll certainly want to have the Argentine available for as many games as possible this coming season.