El Paso Locomotive FC rolls out 2021 Regular Season League Alignment

Officials with El Paso Locomotive FC, alongside USL Championship, announced its alignment in the 2021 Regular Season Tuesday afternoon.

Locomotive joins the USL West Mountain Division alongside Copa Tejas rivals San Antonio FC, Rio Grande Valley FC, and Austin Bold FC, as well as New Mexico United, Real Monarchs, and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Divided into four divisions aligned across the country as Atlantic, Central, Mountain, and Pacific, the 2021 USL Championship season will feature a 32-game regular season that will be conducted over 27 weeks. Each club will play its division opponents four times – twice home, twice away – with the remaining games being played against regional or cross-conference opponents.

The Copa Tejas rivalry returns for the first time since 2019 as Locomotive is set to play regularly against all three USL Championship Texas teams for supremacy over the Lone Star State. Meanwhile, the intense local rivalry with New Mexico United returns after the historic Western Conference Semifinal clash in 2020.

El Paso will also see the return of 2020 Group C rivals, Real Monarchs, and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to round out the Mountain Division. The opponents for the remaining eight Locomotive matches will be announced in the coming weeks.

As previously announced, the Championship’s regular season will begin on or about May 1^st while employing a flexible start date that allows clubs to begin play anywhere between April 24^th and May 15^th.

Officials added that competition-related announcements on home openers for the 2021 USL Championship season, the 2021 ESPN national broadcast schedule, and the full 2021 regular season schedule would follow soon

Fans board with El Paso Locomotive when it returns to action for this third season in the USL Championship! Lock in your Season Ticket Membership by going online or by calling/texting 915-235-GOAL to enjoy world-class Championship soccer at Southwest University Park.

The divisional alignments for all 31 USL Championship Teams are listed below:

2021 USL Championship Conference Alignment

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Charleston Battery Charlotte Independence Hartford Athletic Loudoun United FC Miami FC New York Red Bulls II Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Tampa Bay Rowdies Central Division Atlanta United 2 Birmingham Legion FC FC Tulsa Indy Eleven Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC OKC Energy FC Sporting Kansas City II

Western Conference Mountain Division Austin Bold FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC New Mexico United Real Monarchs SLC Rio Grande Valley FC San Antonio FC Pacific Division LA Galaxy II Las Vegas Lights FC Oakland Roots SC Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC Sacramento Republic FC San Diego Loyal SC Tacoma Defiance