It will be a transformative day in Fort Wayne sports history: May 2, the first home match for Fort Wayne Football Club in professional soccer.
The club will face the Charlotte Independence at 7:30 p.m. in the first event at Fort Wayne FC Park, the state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadium being built at Bass Road and I-69.
Fort Wayne FC’s first USL League One season will begin March 7 at FC Naples and the club will spend its first eight weeks playing only road matches before opening Fort Wayne FC Park, a 100% privately funded stadium that will be the largest outdoor venue in Northeast Indiana with capacity of over 9,000. Season tickets are currently on sale.
“We’re excited to introduce professional soccer to Northeast Indiana sports fans with a Saturday night home opener against the Charlotte Independence,” said Mark Music, Fort Wayne FC’s majority owner. “While construction on Fort Wayne FC Park remains on schedule, getting an extra two months before playing our first home match is an ideal scenario for Fort Wayne Football Club. Added time will help us resolve any unforeseen issues as we ensure Fort Wayne FC Park gives its patrons a top-notch experience. Our full schedule will be released in the coming days and we couldn’t be more excited about the dates we have secured for our first season in professional soccer.”
USL League One tentatively plans to announce its full schedule, including regular season and USL Cup matches, on Tuesday and Fort Wayne FC will ultimately have 19 matches at home with plans to add another friendly to the schedule.
As part of the league’s announcement of home openers Thursday, it was revealed that Fort Wayne Football Club will also compete in the Chattanooga Red Wolves’ home opener April 11.
USL League One will have 18 clubs in 2026: Athletic Club Boise, AV Alta FC, Charlotte Independence, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Corpus Christi FC, Fort Wayne Football Club, Forward Madison FC, Greenville Triumph SC, FC Naples, New York Cosmos, One Knoxville SC, Portland Hearts of Pine, Richmond Kickers, Sarasota Paradise, South Georgia Tormenta FC, Spokane Velocity FC, Union Omaha, and Westchester SC.
The reigning champion is One Knoxville. Other teams new to USL League One include Athletic Club Boise, Corpus Christi FC, the New York Cosmos and Sarasota Paradise.
The 34-week USL League One season will conclude Oct. 24.
Clubs will play 34 regular-season matches and four group-stage matches in the USL Cup, an interleague competition between teams from USL League One and the higher-level USL Championship.
The top eight teams in the USL League One regular-season standings will qualify for the playoffs, which will begin Oct. 31. The playoffs will have a single-elimination, fixed-bracket format.
About Fort Wayne Football Club
Fort Wayne Football Club, founded in 2019, is a professional soccer club playing its first season in USL League One in 2026. The club is building a state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadium, Fort Wayne FC Park, that will open at Bass Road and I-69 in 2026. In pre-professional USL League Two, Fort Wayne Football Club won division titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For more information, visit FortWayneFC.com.
About United Soccer League
Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League (USL) is the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States, impacting more than 200 communities nationwide. The USL is the first and only organization to offer a comprehensive youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women under one ecosystem. This structure includes four men’s leagues: the newly announced, top-tier professional Division I league, the USL Championship (Division II), USL League One (Division III), and USL League Two (pre-professional). The women’s pathway includes the top-tier USL Super League (Division I), which debuted in 2024, and USL W League, the country’s leading pre-professional women’s league. The USL also oversees USL Academy, a progressive talent development platform, and USL Youth, a premier national youth platform.