NYCFC will be quite the travelers during NYCFC's 2026 preseason

After a mostly quiet offseason that had the big story of Justin Haak leaving, New York City FC is back for the preseason. The players returned to New York this past weekend, and fans were treated to the surprise of Talles Magno being featured on social media. A few of the new players, like Mac Learned, met their new teammates. Then, it was announced that Maxi Moralez re-signed a contract for 2026.

Fans also found on Friday that NYCFC will have a very busy preseason. The Boys in Blue will travel around the country. Of course, they started in New York, but the team made their way down to Florida. Afterward, they will go to Texas before heading to California. After that, they will fly back to New York. However, it is unknown whether they will stay in California until the season opener, for they will be playing against the LA Galaxy.

NYCFC will travel to multiple states in the preseason

It was unknown when they would leave for Florida, but NYCFC posted on social media that they were in the Sunshine State on Monday evening. The players likely wanted to head down as soon as possible due to the winter weather. So, they are currently in Tampa. They will face the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who play in the USL Championship, on Saturday, January 24.

Afterward, when the Boys in Blue are in Texas, they will set up shop in Austin. There, they will face Austin FC, who they faced just once in the regular season. The game will take place on Sunday, February 1.

Once they are done in Texas, NYCFC will head to California for the Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio. The Bronx side will be in Palm Springs, which is likely where they will train.

At the invitational, the players will play three games. The first one is against Los Angeles FC on Sunday, February 8, the second will be against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, February 11, and the final matchup will see the Pigeons face the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, February 14.

Likely, the most challenging match of the invitational will be against LAFC. Of course, the preseason matches do not always tell the full story since teams will heavily rotate players. Still, LAFC was the only team of the three that was in the MLS Cup Playoffs. This should be the fixture that Pascal Jansen starts his expected Starting XI, so he can see what the team can do.

Nevertheless, all of these games will help the Pigeons prepare for the 2026 season. It is also the time for players to step up and grab the vacated spots left by Haak and the injured players. NYCFC should have an interesting preseason.