PHILADELPHIA, PA - Major League Soccer announced Tuesday that the 2012 edition of the MLS AT&T All-Star game will take place on Wednesday, July 25, at 8pm, at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, home of the Philadelphia Union. The game will be carried live on RDS and TSN, as well as on ESPN2, Galavision or TeleFutura. The opponent and logo will be unveiled at a later date.
"Philadelphia has become a destination for hosting major soccer events in recent years, and we are pleased to bring the 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game to a region with incredibly passionate soccer supporters," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "The Sons of Ben and the rest of the Union fans will provide an enthusiastic home-field advantage at PPL Park, and we look forward to celebrating our sport with this vibrant soccer community."
This would make the second consecutive year the event will be hosted by an East Coast team. Last year's All-Star Game was at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., home of the MLS' New York franchise, in front of over 26,000 supporters. Philadelphia-Chester apparently beat out bids by Kansas City and Vancouver.
The 2012 All-Star Game will mark the ninth time in League history that an elite international club has played the MLS All-Stars, who are 5-2-1 in those matches. In addition to honoring the best players in MLS, the game has featured successful, world-famous clubs such as Everton FC (2009), Chelsea FC (2006), and Chivas de Guadalajara (2003). For the past editions, the English Premier League's Manchester United lined up opposite the MLS stars. Last year, United's Park Ji-Sung took MVP honours back to England, who along with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand, was named to the starting lineup for the game. International stars the likes of Thierry Henry, David Beckham and Landon Donovan all suited up for MLS last year.
