Fan voting for the 2011 AT&T Major League Soccer All-Star Game begins today.
The fan ballot will help determine the best of MLS, as they suit up against storied English club Manchester United FC in the first All-Star fixture hosted in the New York metropolitan area in 14 years. The match will be held at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, on Wednesday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on TSN.
Whitecaps FC defenders Jay DeMerit and Alain Rochat join midfielder Davide Chiumiento and strikers Camilo, Atiba Harris, and Eric Hassli in being named to the ballot. The announcement was made by MLS on Wednesday morning after the completion of a league-wide selection process. A select media panel consisting of more than 30 knowledgeable members from across North America - and at least one local reporter from every MLS market - determined the field. The ballot consists of six players per team for a total of 108 players eligible for fan voting.
Through Tuesday, July 5, at 8:59 p.m. PT, fans will be able to select the “First XI” All-Stars through any of three digital voting methods:
- At MLSsoccer.com – Vote for your starting line-up of 11 players.
- Via text message (SMS): Text an MLS player’s last name to 22442.
Each vote will count equally with those submitted online in determining the First XI.
The player who receives the most text votes will automatically earn a spot among the First XI.
- Twitter: One vote per tweet between June 17 to 20. A vote will only be valid if the following conditions are met within one Tweet: An MLS player’s Twitter handle (i.e. @liam2929 or @D6MERIT), OR an MLS player’s full name with no space between first and last (i.e. alainrochat, davidechiumiento, camilo, or atibaharris) appears in the Tweet AND the Tweet contains @MLS AND #MLSAllStar
The “First XI” will be announced on Sunday, July 10, on ESPN during halftime of the Portland Timbers versus Seattle Sounders FC match that begins at 1 p.m. PT.
Following fan voting, MLS All-Star head coach Hans Backe of the New York Red Bulls will select the gameday roster and the starting line-up against Manchester United on July 27. MLS Commissioner Don Garber will also select two All-Stars; the coach will decide if those two are selected for the gameday roster. The coach and Commissioner selections will be announced on Monday, July 18.
Once the final gameday roster has been selected, voting by MLS players will determine the remainder of the 32 All-Stars comprising the 2011 MLS All-Star Game roster, with the final list being released on MLSsoccer.com on Monday, July 25.
