The 2021 Columbus Crew season was the club's 26th season of existence and their 26th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States and Canada. The first match of the season was on April 18 against Philadelphia Union. It was the third season under head coach Caleb Porter.
The 2021 season saw Columbus defending their 2020 MLS Cup championship, as well as the opening of Lower.com Field, the club's new downtown stadium. They hosted the 2021 Campeones Cup against Cruz Azul, the winner of the Liga MX's Campeón de Campeones winning 2âÂÂ0. The club also participated in the CONCACAF Champions League, their first appearance since the 2010âÂÂ11 tournament.
The team began playing the season under the name Columbus Crew SC until a rebrand on May 10, 2021, after which the name was changed to Columbus SC. However, after criticism over the rebrand was spurred by its fans, the club announced that it would return to its original name. The "SC" was dropped and the club was once again the Columbus Crew.
This was the last season in which Columbus Crew played at Historic Crew Stadium, where the team played their final match against the Chicago Fire on June 19, 2021, with a 2âÂÂ0 win. The team then moved to Lower.com Field near downtown Columbus, where they would play their first match at the new stadium against the New England Revolution with a 2âÂÂ2 draw on July 3, 2021.
(on loan to Austin FC)
The Crew played preseason matches in Florida. They brought six academy players with them to training camp: Anthony Samways, Elton Chifamba, Noah Hall, Samuel Sarver, TJ Presthus and Levi Stephens
On March 10, 2021 the league announced the home openers for every club, with Columbus playing Philadelphia Union at Historic Crew Stadium.
The Columbus Crew failed to qualify for the playoffs in this season.
On July 20, US Soccer announced that the tournament would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.
Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.
|- |colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Columbus during the season:
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. The picks for Columbus Crew are listed below: