Here’s a first look at Sporting KC’s 2023 schedule featuring club’s earliest start yet

One of the first things that jumps out about Sporting KC’s 2023 schedule, released Tuesday by Major League Soccer, is that Sporting will play new regional rival St. Louis City SC three times.

Sporting and St. Louis kick off their I-70 rivalry on May 20 at the newly built City Park in St. Louis. (Just one of the three matches will take place in Kansas City.)

Before those games arrive, Sporting KC opens its season on the road against the Portland Timbers (9:30 p.m. Central Time Feb. 25) and plays its first match of ‘23 at Children’s Mercy Park on March 11 against the L.A. Galaxy.

The “nicest rivalry in sports” also returns in 2023, with three games featuring Sporting KC against Minnesota United.

Sporting KC will play Western Conference opponents 28 times, Eastern foes six times. Among the latter group of games, a road trip to Miami in September is intriguing amid rumors of newly crowned World Cup Champion Lionel Messi’s summer arrival in Ft. Lauderdale.

The MLS calendar will pause from July 21 to August 9 for the Leagues Cup. Sporting KC will play two group-stage matches, one at home and one away, with at least one guaranteed to be against a Liga MX opponent.

The top two teams in each group advance to the Leagues Cup round of 32, where the tournament’s knockout phase begins. The top three finishers will qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League in 2024.

In addition to the Leagues Cup, the U.S. Open Cup will begin in April. Sporting KC enters in the third round this year; matches will be held on April 13 or 14.

Before any of this happens, Sporting KC will again head to Arizona for its preseason. The team will spend two two-week stints in the desert; a schedule for the team’s preseason matches is expected soon.

In 2023, for the first time, all Sporting KC matches can be seen using the new MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. With this new broadcast deal, there are no local blackouts.

MLS Season Pass costs $99 annually or $14.99 monthly starting Feb. 1. For Apple TV+ subscribers, it is available at a discounted rate of $12.99 per month or $79 for the season.

All matches will be free to watch during opening weekend, as will a number of matches throughout the season.

Sporting KC’s 2023 schedule

Home games in ALL CAPS.

Date, opponent, time (Central)

February—25: at Portland Timbers, 9:30 p.m.

March—4: at Colorado Rapids, 8:30 p.m.; 11: LA GALAXY, 7:30 p.m.; 18: at FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m.; 25: SEATTLE SOUNDERS, 7:30 p.m.

April—1: at Philadelphia Union, 6:30 p.m.; 8: COLORADO RAPIDS, 7:30 p.m.; 15: at San Jose Earthquakes, 9:30 p.m.; 22: at New England Revolution, 6:30 p.m.; 29: CF MONTREAL, 7:30 p.m.

May—7: at Seattle Sounders, 3:30 p.m. (FOX); 13: MINNESOTA UNITED, 7:30 p.m.; 17: at Los Angeles FC, 9:30 p.m.; 20: at St. Louis City SC, 8:30 p.m. (FS1); 28: PORTLAND TIMBERS, 2 p.m. (FOX); 31: FC DALLAS, 7:30 p.m.

June—3: at Vancouver Whitecaps, 9:30 p.m.; 10: AUSTIN FC, 7:30 p.m.; 17: LOS ANGELES FC, 7:30 p.m.; 21: at L.A. Galaxy, 9:30 p.m.; 24: CHICAGO FIRE, 7:30 p.m.

July—1: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS, 7:30 p.m.; 8: at Houston Dynamo, 7:30 p.m.; 12: REAL SALT LAKE, 7:30 p.m.; 15: at Austin FC, 7:30 p.m.

August—26: SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES, 7:30 p.m.

September—2: ST. LOUIS CITY SC, 7:30 p.m.; 9: at Inter Miami, 6:30 p.m.; 16: at Minnesota United, 7:30 p.m.; 20: NASHVILLE, 7:30 p.m.; 23: HOUSTON DYNAMO, 7:30 p.m.; 30: at St. Louis City SC, 7:30 p.m.

October—7: at Real Salt Lake, 8:30 p.m.; 21: MINNESOTA UNITED FC, time TBD.