NYCFC II's 2026 schedule includes seven Randall's Island matches

The 2026 schedule for New York City FC II is out and it's heavier than ever on MLS Next Pro matches at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island.

It's an even split in 2026, with the first seven of NYCFC II's 14 home matches to be played at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens.

Then from June through September, it's seven straight home matches at Icahn Stadium, the most there to date across the three Next Pro seasons the team has split time between Randall's Island and Jamaica, Queens.

Belson Stadium gets not just the first seven home matches but NYCFC II's first match period, with Carolina Core FC coming to Queens on Saturday, February 28 at 7:00 pm ET to open the 2026 season, what will be the league and the team's fifth season of competition.

The II squad's second home game will be the first of three Hudson River Derbies scheduled this year. Both NYCFC II home venues will host a meeting with Red Bull New York II, with the first Next Pro Derby of 2026 at Belson Stadium on Sunday, March 15, at 7:00 pm ET.

The rivalry will make its Icahn Stadium debut much later in the season on the night of Tuesday, September 8, a kickoff scheduled for 5:00 pm ET, with a trip to New Jersey's MSU Soccer Park on the night of Sunday, May 17 sandwiched in between the New York City-hosted meetings.

The "home opener" for the Randall's Island portion of the II's home schedule will be on Father's Day, Sunday, June 21, against Chattanooga FC at 5:00 pm. In fact, six of the seven Icahn Stadium matches start at 5:00 pm ET, a random yet consistent start time for that venue.

The season ends on the MLS Next Pro version of Decision Day on Sunday, September 20, when NYCFC II visits the state of Pennsylvania to play Philadelphia Union II at a location still to be announced.

New York City FC II will be hoping they're heading to the playoffs after 2026 Decision Day, as they'll be trying to rebound from what was a rough 2025 season, a season in which they collected 35 points from 28 matches and finished 24th in the 29-team overall MLS Next Pro table.

New local-ish rival in Connecticut

The 2026 season will see a new expansion team join MLS Next Pro to give the league a nice, round 30 teams. The new club will also count as a local-ish rival for New York City FC II, given it's CT United FC based out in Bridgeport, Connecticut, joining MLS Next Pro.

CT United will be the fifth independent club – meaning with no affiliation to a team in MLS – to participate in MLS Next Pro. Connecticut first plays NYCFC II at Belson Stadium on Friday, April 17, with the Pigeons traveling to face the new Connecticut club for the first time on Sunday, June 28, at Fairfield University, according to NYCFC's schedule release.

Interestingly, CT United have not yet announced their home venue(s) for the 2026 season, with the club's website and the MLS Next Pro website saying "the team will play its home matches in venues across Connecticut in 2026" and that "venues...for the 2026 season will be shared at a later date."

CT United will be the last team to visit NYCFC II, the opponent for their 14th and final home match of the season which will be on Saturday, September 13, at 5:00 pm ET at Icahn Stadium.

Icahn Stadium busier than ever

For NYCFC II, their stadium-splitting hits a clean 50% in 2026, and the number of games they're playing at Icahn Stadium continues to climb steadily since the team's 2024 debut at the venue.

In 2024, NYCFC II played just two matches at the 5,000-seat track-and-field stadium nestled between Queens and Manhattan, both in September a few months after the July announcement that New York City FC paid $3 million to widen the running track for a soccer pitch to fit, to install new Kentucky Bluegrass, and to improve the stadium's drainage and irrigation.

During the 2025 season, NYCFC II's number of appearances on Randall's Island grew to five. The number was initially set to be four 2025 matches at Icahn Stadium, but a venue-TBD meeting with Philadelphia Union II ended up being played on Randall's Island on July 26, which also meant the team's final five matches of the season all took place at Icahn Stadium, similar to how the final seven matches of 2026 are set to be there.

If you've still been waiting for the right time to catch a match on Randall's Island, you will have ample opportunities this year. Seven NYCFC II matches at Icahn Stadium come in addition to one confirmed Gotham FC match to be played there this summer when Seattle Reign FC visit on Saturday, July 18, at 12:00 pm ET for a NWSL regular season fixture.

The number of professional soccer matches played on Randall's Island per year has steadily risen since 2024, fitting for a place with a long and extensive history hosting the sport that stretches back long before Icahn Stadium (opened in 2005) was built.