The MLS All-Star Skills Challenge is coming, and two world champs will sit among the judges panel.
MLS announced on Friday that two-time FIFA World Cup champion Alex Morgan of the Orlando Pride and Orlando City SC legend Kaká, who won the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Brazil, will be among the panel of judges for the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by Target, set for 8 pm ET Tuesday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Morgan and Kaká will be joined by MLS and U.S. Soccer great Alexi Lalas, former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson and eMLS Cup Champion Cormac Dooley, better known as Doolsta.
The panel of judges will help decide which team will receive an extra 20 points for style in the Touch and Volley competition. Fans joining online throughout the world will have a chance to vote alongside the star-studded panel through interactive live streams on both Twitch (twitch.tv/mls) and Twitter (@MLS). Doolsta will represent the Twitch vote at the event, while the Twitter votes will be represented by Alexi Lalas.
During the Touch and Volley competition, players will receive a series of crosses served in by their teammates and attempt to score on goal. An on-field referee will judge the point value of each shot that enters the goal with higher points awarded for a bicycle kick or first-time volley.
At the end of the three rounds, the panel of judges will award 20 additional points for the team that demonstrated the most style and flair in their attempts.
The 90-minute event will feature three teams: MLS All-Stars (Wayne Rooney, Carlos Vela, Jonathan dos Santos), Orlando City SC (Nani, Chris Mueller, Sebastian Mendez) and a trio from Atlético de Madrid (Koke, Joao Felix, Hector Herrera).
The team with the most points across the three skills – Shooting, Touch and Volley, Passing – will be crowned the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge Champions and a donation will be made to the charity of its choice.
Held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Tuesday at 8 pm ET, the event will engage audiences around the world through the broadest digital-first distribution in North American sports. Fans be able to watch live on MLSsoccer.com and the MLS App, as well as in English, Spanish and French across the digital platforms of all five MLS domestic media partners – ESPN, FOX and Univision in the US, TSN and TVA Sports in Canada – and in more than 170 countries around the world through MLS’s international media partners.
Limited tickets to attend the event are still available by visiting www.MLSsoccer.com/AllStar.
