Football General Manager
- MLS All-Stars open to the idea of East vs. West
- St. Clair stressed there’s enough stars, rivalries
- MLS All-Stars set to face Liga MX All-Stars
AUSTIN, Texas – Major League Soccer hasn’t had an Eastern Conference versus Western Conference All-Star game in nearly 21 years. A few MLS All-Stars from this year’s game believe its time for that format to return.
“I think the East-West would be really cool,” MLS All-Star goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair said. “We have a lot more teams now. There are a lot of quality players, even some who weren’t able to be selected for the team. So I think East vs West would be a cool idea to go back to.”
The last time MLS rolled out the format was in 2004, a 3-2 win for the Eastern Conference at the old RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. St. Clair wasn’t alone in his sentiments.
“Yeah, it could be fun,” Vancouver Whitecaps All-Star striker Brian White said. “Obviously, there’s a rivalry with Liga MX, but there’s also a bit of a East Coast-West Coast rivalry, as well. If it’s something the fans would be interested in, it’s something the league could look into. But there’s definitely that East Coast-West Coast rivalry, for sure.”
White’s Vancouver teammate and fellow All-Star Tristan Blackmon pointed to how engaged players are in following performances and the standings in both conferences. He believes that passion would show in an All-Star setting.
“Even in the league, teams in the West look at teams in the East to try to see how they’re doing,” Blackmon said. “You keep up with the standings…There’s definitely a competitiveness when it comes to East vs West. In the future, why not have a game so players can go at it from that perspective?”
As All-Star games struggle for relevancy across all major American sports, MLS is not alone in evaluating what works well for younger audiences. In the current format, in which MLS invites teams from around the world or Liga MX All-Stars, there have been some memorable moments – including wins over Chelsea FC and Bayern Munich over the past decade. Yet, in the past two years, there have been embarrassing routs, with Arsenal beating the MLS All-Stars, 5-0, in 2023 and Liga MX winning 4-1 last year.
In addition to potentially changing formats, FC Cincinnati star Miles Robinson said that MLS to should consider recruiting more celebrities to the game, such as its NBA counterpart.
“Maybe more celebrity appearances, or maybe some, you know, festivities – more festivities, or more, you know, gatherings of the people,” Robinson said with a smile.
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In All-Star games against non-U.S. competition – European and Liga MX All-Star teams – MLS is 10-10 overall.
Major League Soccer will host its MLS Next All-Star game Monday night, its Skills Competition Tuesday night and the All-Star Game itself on Wednesday at the Q2 Stadium.
