Lionel Messi’s first US Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup playoff match with Inter Miami would be held on Oct. 25 and aired live on a massive screen spanning an entire block of New Yor City’s Times Square.
MLS announced on Thursday that Inter Miami’s opener would be the lone playoff match played on that Friday night, with an 8:30pm Eastern start time.
It is a slight adjustment to the MLS Cup schedule; original plans called for the playoffs to begin on Oct. 26.
Photo: Reuters
Inter Miami clinched the MLS Supporters Shield — given to the league’s best regular season team — on Wednesday night with a 3-2 win at Columbus.
With the No. 1 overall seed, Inter Miami also has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and would play host to the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7 if it makes it.
The Supporters Shield was Messi’s 46th trophy won for his various clubs or while playing for Argentina.
Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup — an annual soccer competition between clubs from Canada, the US and Mexico — last season in Messi’s first year with the club, but did not qualify for the MLS playoffs.
MLS also announced there would be some different broadcast elements for Inter Miami’s playoff opener.
Apple TV would make the match available to its customers, regardless of whether they have an MLS Season Pass subscription.
The match would also be shown live on a 25,000-square-foot digital television display screen on Broadway between 45th and 46th streets in New York’s Times Square.
Inter Miami would open the playoffs in a best-of-three series against the winner of the Eastern Conference’s wild-card match, which would be played on Oct. 22.
The full MLS Cup playoff bracket would not be set until Oct. 19, the final day of the league’s regular season.
Playing the match on Friday night in Fort Lauderdale also avoids the potential for conflict with other significant sporting events in South Florida that weekend.
Miami and Florida State renew their annual college football rivalry on Oct. 26.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — currently sidelined while dealing with the aftereffects of a concussion — would be eligible to return from injured reserve for his team’s game against Arizona on Oct. 27.
NASCAR also has a playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that weekend as well.
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