El Paso Locomotive FC announce 2026 schedule
EL PASO, Texas - El Paso Locomotive FC announced today its full regular season schedule for the 2026 USL Championship season, as well as dates for its participation in the renovated Prinx Tires USL Cup.
For the best prices and priority seating for every Locomotive home match in 2026, become a Season Ticket Member today. Season Ticket Memberships for the 2026 season are available now and can be secured online at eplocomotivefc.com/seasontickets or calling (915) 235-GOAL.
The 2026 regular season will see Locomotive play its conference opponents in a home-and-home series for 22 games with two additional Western Conference matches and six matches against Eastern Conference opponents – three home, three away – to make up the 30-game regular season schedule.
The Prinx Tires USL Cup – which includes 43 professional men’s clubs from the USL Championship and USL League One competing in a World Cup-style tournament throughout the regular season – will make up the remaining four matches in Locomotive’s schedule.
Full schedules and dates for the 2026 season, as well as conference alignments and national broadcast agreements, are listed below.
NOTABLE LOCOMOTIVE MATCHES
El Paso’s season will kick off with the 2026 Home Opener at Southwest University Park on Saturday, March 7, hosting Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
The Locos will hit the road for two Western Conference trips against Monterey Bay FC on Saturday, March 14 and Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, March 28.
April sees Locomotive at home three times including showdowns with San Antonio FC in a Copa Tejas clash on Saturday, April 18 and the 2025 Western Conference champions, FC Tulsa, on Wednesday, April 29. In between those matches, Los Locos will begin their 2026 USL Cup campaign on the road at Orange County SC on Saturday, April 25.
Locomotive will square off against two opponents for the first time in 2026, both at Southwest University Park. They will take on AV Alta FC from USL League One in their first USL Cup home match of the season on Wednesday, May 27 before welcoming expansion side Sporting Club Jacksonville to the 915 on Saturday, July 25 in a regular season match.
Notable 2026 home matches include a playoff rematch against Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday, June 13, a test against the defending champion Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Wednesday, August 26 and a pair of Derby Del Camino Real clashes in the Borderplex – one as the final group stage match of USL Cup on Saturday, July 11 and one as the home regular season finale for Los Locos on Saturday, October 24.
As for notable road matches, the Locos will travel to Albuquerque on Wednesday, May 6 before two matches against the top regular season team from each conference later in the season against FC Tulsa on Saturday, July 18 and Louisville City FC on Saturday, September 12.
2026 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
| HOME | AWAY | ||
| Date | Opponent | Date | Opponent |
| Saturday, March 7 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | Saturday, March 14 | Monterey Bay FC |
| Saturday, April 4 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Saturday, March 28 | Sacramento Republic FC |
| Saturday, April 18 | San Antonio FC | Saturday, April 11 | Hartford Athletic |
| Wednesday, April 29 | FC Tulsa | Wednesday, May 6 | New Mexico United |
| Saturday, May 30 | Lexington SC | Saturday, May 9 | Oakland Roots SC |
| Saturday, June 13 | Phoenix Rising FC | Wednesday, June 10 | Detroit City FC |
| Saturday, July 25 | Sporting Club Jacksonville | Saturday, June 20 | Monterey Bay FC |
| Wednesday, August 5 | Monterey Bay FC | Saturday, July 4 | Las Vegas Lights FC |
| Saturday, August 8 | Oakland Roots SC | Saturday, July 18 | FC Tulsa |
| Wednesday, August 26 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Saturday, August 1 | Orange County SC |
| Saturday, August 29 | Loudoun United FC | Saturday, August 15 | San Antonio FC |
| Friday, September 25 | FC Tulsa | Saturday, August 22 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC |
| Saturday, October 10 | Orange County SC | Saturday, September 12 | Louisville City FC |
| Saturday, October 17 | Sacramento Republic FC | Saturday, September 19 | Phoenix Rising FC |
| Saturday, October 24 | New Mexico United | Saturday, October 3 | Lexington SC |
2026 USL CHAMPIONSHIP CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT
| WESTERN CONFERENCE | EASTERN CONFERENCE |
| Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | Birmingham Legion FC |
| El Paso Locomotive FC | Brooklyn FC |
| Las Vegas Lights FC | Charleston Battery |
| Lexington SC | Detroit City FC |
| Monterey Bay FC | Hartford Athletic |
| New Mexico United | Indy Eleven |
| Oakland Roots SC | Loudoun United FC |
| Orange County SC | Louisville City FC |
| Phoenix Rising FC | Miami FC |
| Sacramento Republic FC | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC |
| San Antonio FC | Rhode Island FC |
| FC Tulsa | Sporting Club Jacksonville |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies |
2026 PRINX TIRES USL CUP SCHEDULE
For the second consecutive year, Locomotive will compete in the Prinx Tires USL Cup (previously USL Jägermeister Cup). Los Locos have been placed in Group 2 with Championship sides Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, New Mexico United, Orange County SC, Phoenix Rising FC and League One side AV Alta FC.
The seven group winners and one wild card will advance to the knockout stage, with the wild card to be awarded to the second-placed team with the most points in group play, followed by the first tiebreaker of most goals scored. The Quarterfinals will be held on Wednesday, August 13, followed by the Semifinals on Wednesday, September 9 before the final on the weekend of October 2-4, 2026.
| HOME | AWAY | ||
| Date | Opponent | Date | Opponent |
| Wednesday, May 27 | AV Alta FC | Saturday, April 25 | Orange County SC |
| Saturday, July 11 | New Mexico United | Saturday, June 6 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC |
2026 U.S. OPEN CUP INFORMATION
El Paso Locomotive FC will participate in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after their furthest run in tournament history this past season. They advanced to the Round of 32 before falling 3-2 at Austin FC in the club's first-ever competitive match against an MLS side.
Los Locos qualified for the tournament by securing a playoff spot in the Western Conference of the USL Championship last season. Locomotive will begin in the First Round of the tournament scheduled to take place between Tuesday, March 17 and Thursday, March 19. The draw for the first two rounds will take place in January.
2026 USL CHAMPIONSHIP BROADCAST AGREEMENT
The 2026 USL Championship season will be the third in the league’s four-year broadcast agreement with CBS Sports, with games also set to air nationally on ESPN Networks, CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports Golazo Network, ESPN+ and TUDN. A full broadcast schedule will be announced following the release of the 2026 USL Championship schedule.
2026 USL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS
At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams in each conference will qualify for the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs, which will kick off on the weekend of Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2026.
The USL Championship Playoffs will remain a single-elimination and fixed bracket format. The postseason will conclude with the 2026 USL Championship Final on the CBS Television Network between Nov. 20 and Nov. 22, 2026, with more details to be announced in the coming weeks.
