CHICAGO – It will be another year of change for Chicago Fire FC on the field in 2022 along with their schedule, as fans will get to see the club at home earlier than at any point in their history.
Major League Soccer announced the club’s first two games of next season, including the home opener against Orlando City SC on Saturday, March 5th at Soldier Field. It’s the earliest the Fire have began play at home in their 25 years in the league, a silver anniversary that will be celebrated during the entire season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5 PM as the club begins its third season at Soldier Field.
A week earlier the club will open their season on the road as they face Inter Miami CF on Saturday, February 26th at DRV PNK Stadium. The rest of the Major League Soccer schedule will be released later in the year.
When the Fire do kickoff their season, it will be with a new manager and a number of new players on the pitch after nine on the roster weren’t retained after the season. Per numerous reports, the club is in the final negotiations with Columbus assistant Ezra Hendrickson to take over as the on-field leader from Raphael Wicky, who was fired in September.
Entering their third year under the ownership of Joe Mansueto and sporting director Georg Heitz, the club is hoping to end a playoff drought that extended to four years during an inconsistent 2021 season. They finished 9-18-7 and were never in true contention for a playoff spot for most of the second half of the season.