SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2023) – In conjunction with Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake today unveiled its 2024 MLS schedule, with the Claret-and-Cobalt Club’s 20th campaign stretching from Wednesday, February 21 – when it travels to face eight-time Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi and InterMiami FC for the first time ever, as a standalone “MLS is BACK” kickoff for the League’s 29th season – through Saturday, October 19, hosting Decision Day 2024 against Vancouver.
Various RSL season ticket and other holiday packages for the 2024 RSL season are now available at www.RSL.com/tickets, with individual games going on sale roughly the month prior to the March 2 home opener at America First Field, the 15th season to kick off in Sandy. The Sat., March 2 home opener welcomes West power Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), with a rare 12 NOON MT kickoff in Sandy.
The 2024 season – which will see RSL FW Chicho Arango play his first full year on the Wasatch Front and give 20-year-old starlet Diego Luna the chance to lead the U.S. Men’s Olympic team in Paris – also features RSL’s pursuit of a Conference-best fourth consecutive postseason berth, a sixth in the last seven seasons and its 14th in the last 17 years is highlighted by several key dates, including:
- Real Salt Lake’s first-ever match against fifth-year side Inter Miami FC, the Utah Club traveling to face the iconic Lionel Messi & Co. on Wed., Feb. 21 in a star-studded affair to kick off the 2024 MLS season in South Florida;
- The Sat., March 2 RSL home opener welcomes West power LAFC to America First Field for a 12 NOON MT kickoff, the earliest day game at home in the Club’s 20-year history;
- Home-field advantage for RSL on Decision Day 2024, to be played on Sat., October 19, against Western rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the former Sandy tenant;
- Not one but TWO home Rocky Mountain Cup matches against Colorado, on Sat., March 9 and Sat., May 18, as RSL seeks its 14th fan-created, regional rivalry Cup title in the last 17 seasons;
- A return to Independence Day Fireworks on Wed., July 3, against the defending Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Champion Houston Dynamo;
- A visit from reigning MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew on Sat., April 13, just the Black-and-Yellow’s second visit to the Wasatch Front in the last five years; Atlanta (2019) and New England (2018) also travel to Utah for the first time in several seasons for RSL’s out-of-Conference home matches;
- And multiple Leagues Cup matches to be potentially played at America First Field between Fri., July 26 and Sun., August 25;
For the 2024 MLS regular season, which kicks off with 11 of the Club’s first 19 matches away, RSL will make four Eastern Conference road trips, including the 2024 kickoff at Miami; Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side will also travel to face Chicago (April 20), Philadelphia (April 27) and Montreal (June 15). Each of these eastern voyages are part of multi-game road trips, with a fifth stint in late July sending RSL away at POR, at LAFC and at COL in a single week from July 13-20, just prior to the MLS All-Star Game (July 24) and the month-long 2024 Leagues Cup tournament, which kicks off on July 26;
- On six (6) MLS-only occasions, RSL will play three games in an eight-day period: May 11-18 (@LAG / v SEA / v COL), May 25-June 1 (@DAL, @SEA, v ATX), June 15-22 (@MTL, @KC, v LAG), the aforementioned July 13-20 (@POR, @LAFC, @COL), Sept. 14-21 (@HOU, v DAL, v NE) and Sept. 28-Oct. 5 (@ATX, v MIN, @ SJ); additional midweek matches affecting the Club due to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup could potentially occur, as they did during RSL’s 2023 USOC run to the Semifinals;
- Another six (6) schedule periods see RSL hosting multi-game homestands at America First Field with five back-to-back matches – March 2-9 (LAFC / COL), May 15-18 (SEA / COL), Aug. 24-31 (SJ / NE), Sept. 18-21 (DAL / POR), as well as a month-long three-game homestand from June 22 to July 6 (LAG / HOU / ATL), which also includes an international break;
- The 2024 slate includes five bye weekends, including international breaks surrounding the following Saturdays: March 16, June 8, June 29, Sept. 7 and Oct. 12
- Four home Wednesday matches at America First Field, the first of which is May 15 against Seattle; others include the July 3 holiday v. Houston, Sept. 18 v. Dallas and Oct. 2 v. Minnesota;
- Two September visits to Texas during college football season, including Saturday, Sept. 14th at Houston and Saturday, Sept. 28th at Austin;
- A total of nine (9) MLS reg. season matches after the MLS All-Star Game, to be played in Columbus on July 24 just before Leagues Cup kicks off on July 26, the MLS v Liga MX showcase being played through August 25;
- Post-Leagues Cup, RSL will host six (6) of those final nine (9) games at home, including the home Decision Day matchup against Vancouver, a team which called Sandy, Utah, home for most of the 2021 season; other late-season run-in opponents for RSL at America First Field include San Jose, New England, Portland, Dallas and Minnesota.
The 2023 RSL side amassed the Club’s seventh 50-point season all-time (out of 19 seasons), and just the second since the 2014 campaign. Finishing 11th overall out of 29 teams, RSL crashed out of the postseason by the thinnest of margins for a second consecutive year (Austin 2022, Houston 2023), dropping a road shootout tiebreaker in Texas. Other 2023 RSL milestones:
- Accumulated an all-time Club-best road record with 12 results in 17 away MLS matches, posting an 8W-5L-4T mark with 28 of its 50 reg. season points amassed on the road; RSL’s previous road bests were recorded in 2012 and 2013, with identical 6W-7L-4T (22 pts) records;
- RSL attained 50 points in 2023 despite a home mark of 6W-7L-4T was its least successful since 2007, when a 4W-7L-4T record on the Rice-Eccles turf marked the 19-year nadir;
- During a nearly four-month span from mid-April to early August, RSL dropped just three of 24 games across all competitions, including MLS reg. season action, its Open Cup run to the Semifinals and its initial Leagues Cup foray;
- Thirty-two (32) different players saw action for RSL in 2023, including 15-year-old FW Axel Kei and 16-year-old Zavier Gozo making their Homegrown debuts, along with Academy products GK Gavin Beavers and DF Delentz Pierre also making their first-ever first-team appearances; a trio of rookies – D/M Emeka Eneli, FW Bertin Jacquesson and FW Ilijah Paul – made their professional debuts, while FW Andrés Gómez, MF Nelson Palacio, DF Kevon Lambert and DF* Brayan Vera* notched their first-ever MLS appearances last season;
- Since April 16, 2005, RSL has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage on Utah soil – posting a dominant 194-83-95 (Win-Loss-Draw) record across all competitions at home (1.82 points per game for a 0.649 win pct.) – since arriving on the Wasatch Front nearly 20 years ago;
- Since opening its permanent home in Sandy just over 15 years ago, in October, 2008, RSL’s 164-58-75 (W-L-T) mark at America First Field – home of the “RioT” Supporters Group umbrella – equates to a 1.91 points per game average and a 0.679 win pct, one of the truly amazing value proposition in North American sporting landscape today.
Major League Soccer’s 29th season kickoff will be the earliest in League history, as Real Salt Lake travels to face eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and reigning Leagues Cup champion Inter Miami CF in a standalone match on Wednesday, February 21 at DRV PNK Stadium. The match will air at 6 p.m. MT exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Following a record-setting first year of a 10-year partnership with Apple, all of the MLS action in 2024 returns to **MLS Season Pass**on the Apple TV app. Available in more than 100 countries and regions and offering the most expansive and accessible programming lineup ever, MLS Season Pass is the first global streaming service to offer every match across a professional league in one dedicated destination. Fans can enjoy every MLS game with no blackouts and more in-depth coverage and analysis than ever before on billions of devices through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and online at tv.apple.com.
MLS Season Pass also features an array of exclusive on-demand content in addition to MLS 360, the four-hour live whip-around show providing live look-ins from every match alongside expert analysis and discussion, and MLS Wrap-Up, featuring full recaps and postgame coverage of all the matchday action in English and Spanish.
- Every MLS team will play 34 regular season games, with 17 at home and 17 away. The majority of matches in 2024 will be played on Saturdays and select Wednesdays, with start times of 7:30 p.m. LOCAL.
- The 2024 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, hosted in Columbus, Ohio at Lower.com Field, is now set for Wednesday, July 24 (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
After the global soccer community’s eyes turned to Leagues Cup this past summer to witness Inter Miami’s historic win, the World Cup-style club competition featuring all LIGA MX and Major League Soccer teams, is set to return for its 2024 edition.
Kicking off Friday, July 26 with the tournament final on Sunday, August 25, 2024, the official Concacaf tournament will maintain its three berths to Concacaf Champions Cup, with the Leagues Cup champion qualifying directly to the Round of 16.
In 2023, the tournament featured 77 intense matches, capturing the hearts of nearly 1.3 million fans in the stadiums with an average attendance of approximately 17,000 fans per match. The competition was intensified by an action-packed format which saw an average of 3.26 goals per match.
Fans in more than 100 countries and regions can tune in to all the Leagues Cup action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. TelevisaUnivision, TV Azteca, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS will broadcast select Leagues Cup matches in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Decision Day 2024 – the final matchday of the MLS regular season with postseason implications on the line – is set for Saturday, October 19. The slate of 14 matches will feature all Eastern Conference matches kicking off at 6 p.m. ET and all Western Conference matches beginning at 9 p.m. ET, respectively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
The Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs will culminate in Major League Soccer’s championship match, MLS Cup 2024 presented by Audi, on Saturday, December 7, with hosting rights awarded to the competing team with the better regular season record.
