The Men in Red earned home-field advantage with a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, will host Charlotte at SeatGeek Stadium
CHICAGO (Nov. 8, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC and Major League Soccer today announced the schedule for the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series against Charlotte FC.
The Men in Red will host Charlotte FC at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 22 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire then travel to face Charlotte at 11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 28, at Bank of America Stadium. If necessary, a third match will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at SeatGeek Stadium.
Chicago earned hosting privileges for the Best-of-3 Series by finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Fire also qualified for Leagues Cup 2027, which will take place Aug. 3-Sept. 5, 2027 and will award three berths to the 2028 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Chicago finished the 2026 MLS Regular Season with a 16-11-7 record and 55 points, having clinched back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since 2009, when the Men in Red made the last of three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Their appearance in the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs will be the 15th in Club history.
The Fire's appearance in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs is the second in Gregg Berhalter's two-year tenure as Director of Football and Head Coach. It is also the sixth time in seven seasons as a head coach in Major League Soccer that a Berhalter-led team reaches the postseason.
Every match of the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs will be available on Apple TV in more than 100 countries and regions, offering fans a single destination to watch their favorite teams with no blackouts. MLS Cup presented by Audi will air on FOX and FOX Deportes in the U.S. and on TSN and RDS in Canada, while select additional playoff matches will air on FS1, FOX Deportes, TSN and RDS.
All Fire postseason matches will also be transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 in Spanish.
