MLS Reveals 2020 Schedule: Key Dates, Elements for 25th Season

MLS's 2020 season–the league's 25th–kicks off in just over two months, and the schedule for the landmark campaign has been revealed.

MLS lifted the lid on the structure for the season on Thursday, with the addition of Inter Miami and Nashville SC adding a wrinkle into the schedule's construction. Last season, with 24 teams, and 12 in each conference, it was easy enough for clubs to play other 11 conference foes two times apiece and the 12 clubs in the other conference once. Now, with 26 teams in a 34-game set-up (and things bound to change in each of the subsequent two years as the league grows to 30 teams), things are a tad different.

Teams will still play each team in its own conference twice (covering 24 matches), but will only play 10 of the 13 teams in the other conference, meaning some head-to-head matchups won't be occurring in 2020 unless teams happen to meet in MLS Cup.

Some of the high-profile inter-conference bouts were protected from that, with Atlanta United still facing LAFC, for instance. There will also be an MLS Cup rematch between the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC, who have reached the final in three of the last four seasons.

Another element of intrigue surrounds the national TV schedule, with 10 matches appearing on ABC's main network channel, 20 on ESPN, four on FOX and 14 on Univision.

The home openers for each team had previously been announced, with the league getting things underway on Feb. 29 with a 1 p.m. clash between D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids as part of an eight-match opening day.

Here are some of the other key dates and matches of intrigue as the new season approaches (full schedule is available here):

Courtesy of MLS

- El Trafico, the rivalry between the LA Galaxy and LAFC, has been a smash hit in its two years of existence, though this will be the first in the post-Zlatan Ibrahimovic era. The first match between the two will be on ABC on May 16. The second will be Aug. 23, as part of the league's Rivalry Week.

- Expansion team Inter Miami will open up at Supporters' Shield holder LAFC on March 1 before playing its home-opener at what is supposed to be its temporary home on the site of the old Lockhart Stadium against the LA Galaxy on March 14. That match, of course, will carry extra significance for club owner David Beckham, who played for the Galaxy during his game-changing time in the USA. The club's two matches against Florida foe Orlando City will be away on July 10 and at home on Aug. 20.

- Expansion team Nashville SC opens at home vs. regional foe Atlanta United on Feb. 29. Like Inter Miami, it's playing at a temporary venue this season, the Tennessee Titans' Nissan Stadium. Nashville may be in the Western Conference, but it will still play another team in the southeast, with a clash vs. Orlando City in Florida set for Sept. 12.

- NYCFC recently announced that four home matches would be played at the New York Mets' Citi Field–where the club had to relocate for its playoff ouster at the hands of Toronto FC last season due to a Yankee Stadium conflict with the New York Yankees–and those matches will be April 26 vs. Nashville, July 25 vs. Montreal, Aug. 8 vs. Philadelphia and Sept. 26 vs. D.C. United.

- The two Hudson River Derby matches between NYCFC and the New York Red Bulls will be May 31 and Aug. 23, the latter coming as part of Rivalry Week.

- Another heated rivalry, that between Cascadia Cup foes Portland and Seattle, will have its matches played May 17 in Portland and Aug. 27 in Seattle.

- July 18 will be the day of the MLS Cup rematch, with Toronto FC playing host to Seattle.

- The MLS All-Star Game will be July 29 at Banc of California Stadium, as the league veers away from playing against a European club and will instead face off against an All-Star team made up of top Liga MX talents.

- Thierry Henry will face off against the Red Bulls, his former side, as manager of the Montreal Impact on two occasions. He'll return to Red Bull Arena on June 27 before the home bout on Aug. 8.

- Decision Day, the day of the regular-season finales, will be Oct. 4, with all 26 teams in action simultaneously, starting at 4:30 p.m. Given the odd number of teams in each conference, there will be one inter-conference matchup.