BRIDGEVIEW, Ill.(May 24, 2018) – Major League Soccer announced today that fan voting for the 2018 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target is now available through the free MLS app and the EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. Fans can continue to vote their favorite players to the Fan XI via online ballot on MLSsoccer.com starting on June 8 at 9 a.m. CT. Fan voting will run until June 20.
The Fire players eligible for voting are goalkeeper Richard Sanchez, defenders Kevin Ellis, Johan Kappelhof and Brandon Vincent, midfielders Aleksandar Katai, Dax McCarty and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and forward Nemanja Nikolic.
The MLS All-Stars are set to take on seven-time defending Italian champions Juventus at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on August 1 in the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. The summer showcase will air at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN, UniMás, TSN and TVA Sports domestically as well as across 170 countries globally.
To create the fan ballot, media members nominated a total of 184 players – eight from each MLS team. Ten players – one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and two forwards – with the highest combined votes will be named to the 2018 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target.
The 11th player – a forward – will be determined by the EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. Starting today, fans have the opportunity to vote one forward into the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target by scoring goals with their favorite MLS All-Star forward candidate in EA SPORTS FIFA 18 on Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system through June 20. The forward with the most votes – one goal equals one vote – on June 20 will occupy the final forward spot on the 2018 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target.
A total of 24 MLS players will be named All-Stars per the collective bargaining agreement. Media, fans, players, the All-Star coach, Gerardo “Tata” Martino of Atlanta United, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber all contribute in the All-Star selection process.
The 24 players named 2018 MLS All-Stars will be selected in three phases:
- Ballot creation: Media members determined the field of players – eight players per team – who are most deserving of consideration for this year’s MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. Those players are eligible for fan voting.
- Fan voting: From May 24 through June 20, fans will select the 2018 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target. Fans can vote via the free MLS app starting on May 24 and on MLSsoccer.com beginning June 8.
- Via the EA SPORTS “More than a Vote” Challenge: Starting on May 24, fans will score as many goals as possible with their favorite MLS All-Star forward candidate in FIFA 18, with one goal equaling one vote. The forward with the most votes will occupy one of the forward spots on the 2018 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target.
- Team selection: The MLS All-Star head coach will select the gameday roster from the pool of eligible players determined by the media as well as the 2018 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target and MLS Commissioner Don Garber’s two selections.
