The Crew announces 2023 MLS regular season schedule

With the New Year just around the corner, fans of Major League Soccer are already thinking about the 2023 regular season. On Tuesday, those fans got a holiday treat, as the league announced its schedule for 2023, including the details on the Columbus Crew’s slate of matches.

As part of the 2023 MLS regular season schedule release, it was announced that all 29 teams will play 34 games — 17 at home and 17 on the road. The Crew will take on each Eastern Conference opponent twice. The Black & Gold face six Western Conference opponents once, including matches against Real Salt Lake, the LA Galaxy, the Colorado Rapids, the Portland Timbers, the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas.

Columbus is set to begin the 2023 regular season on the road against last year’s MLS Cup runners-up, the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, Feb. 25. The first home game of the 2023 campaign comes the following weekend, Saturday, March 4 against D.C. United. The Crew won’t play again at Lower.com Field until late March, ideally once the weather in Central Ohio has warmed.

While the Black & Gold will not see newly-crowned MLS Cup champions LAFC during the 2023 regular season, Columbus does welcome the LA Galaxy to Lower.com Field for the first time. The Crew also will not see MLS expansion side St. Louis City SC during the regular season.

Games Crew fans will want to circle begin with the annual Hell is Real matchups against in-state rivals FC Cincinnati. The two Ohio sides first meet at TQL Stadium on Saturday, May 20 before FC Cincy comes to Columbus on Sunday, Aug. 20. The Crew will also face long-time Eastern Conference rivals D.C. United in the second week of the season and again in early April while taking on the Chicago Fire first in mid-June and then again in late September.

MLS announced over the summer a new broadcast agreement with Apple that begins in 2023. This means all non-nationally televised Black & Gold games will be broadcast on Apple TV+. Columbus will have two nationally televised matches this season, both on FOX Sports 1. The first will come on Sunday, May 28 at Nashville SC for the Crew’s first trip to GEODIS Park. The second is the home game against Cincinnati in late August.

New Black & Gold manager Wilfried Nancy will return to his former club CF Montreal on Saturday, Sept. 2. Montreal will then come to Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 21, the final day of the MLS regular season.

All but seven of the Crew’s regular season matches will take place on Saturday evenings. The Black & Gold will play five Wednesday games, two contests on Sundays and one on Tuesday. Additionally, all but seven of Columbus’ games will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The newly created Leagues Cup will debut in 2023, pitting MLS against Mexico’s Liga MX. There will be no MLS matches for the Crew between July 15 and August 20.