MLS Announces 2020 All-Star Game vs. Liga MX All-Stars in Los Angeles
Major League Soccer announced Wednesday the 2020 MLS All-Star Game will take place in Los Angeles and feature a matchup with the top players from Mexico's Liga MX.
The game will be held at Banc of California Stadium, the home of Los Angeles Football Club, and Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reported contest is set for July 29.
The meeting with a squad filled with players from Mexico's top division will bring an end to a 15-year run of MLS' All-Stars taking on a club from Europe in the midseason exhibition.
MLS went 7-8 in those matches, including four straight losses to close the series. Atletico Madrid scored a 3-0 victory in the 2019 edition of the event in July.
Commissioner Don Garber released a statement about the agreements with L.A. and Liga MX:
"We are so pleased to bring the 2020 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target to Los Angeles, one of the great soccer markets in North America. As we celebrate our 25th season, we wanted to deliver an unique and unprecedented format for our annual All-Star Game. Our first ever game between the best of MLS and Liga MX's top players is the perfect way to build on the growing relationship between the two top soccer leagues in the region."
It's the latest addition to growing efforts to create a rivalry between the leagues similar to the one between the United States and Mexico on the international soccer stage. Clubs face off in the CONCACAF Champions League, Campeones Cup and Leagues Cup.
Los Angeles last hosted the All-Star Game in 2003 when the MLS defeated Mexican club Guadalajara 3-1 at Dignity Health Sports Park, the home stadium of the LA Galaxy.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN in both the U.S. and Mexico.
