TAMPA – The United Soccer League released the 2021 national broadcast schedule on Wednesday featuring 19 matches, the most in league history. The Tampa Bay Rowdies have two matches as part of that schedule.
A blockbuster match will be the Rowdies first match on television when there is a do-over of what would have been the 2020 USL Championship Final. The Rowdies will host Phoenix Rising FC at Al Lang Stadium on May 15th with the match televised on ESPN2.
It will be a long wait for Tampa Bay before getting a match on national television with the other match coming on October 7th. That will again be a home match and could be vital in the fate of the Atlantic Division. The Rowdies will play Charleston Battery live on ESPN Deportes.
Florida’s other USL Championship team, Miami FC, will also manage some face time on the ESPN networks. Miami’s home match against Birmingham Legion FC on June 23rd being aired live on ESPN Deportes. That will be the team’s only televised match of the season.
The USL Championship Final will be also be live on ESPN networks, which will give the two Floridian teams one more chance to be on national television. That match will either be on ESPN or ESPN 2 on November 28th.
Every other match in the USL Championship will be aired on ESPN+ regardless of if it is being aired on a local broadcast. This season will see 19 matches televised on ESPN including the first time a USL League One match makes national television.
Photo: United Soccer Leagues
Florida Soccer Report 