Eight New York City FC players are on the ballot for the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, the league announced.
Goalkeeper Josh Saunders; defenders Chris Wingert and Jason Hernandez; midfielders Mix Diskerud, Mehdi Ballouchy and Ned Grabavoy and forwards Khiry Shelton and David Villa represent the Club.
Fans are now able to vote for their favorite league stars through July 3 at 3 pm ET via online ballot on MLSsoccer.com, on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) or by playing EA SPORTS FIFA 15.
The MLS All-Stars will take on English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the MLS All-Star Game at 9 p.m. ET on July 29 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – home of the Colorado Rapids. The match will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 and UniMas in the United States and TSN and RDS in Canada.
Fans can vote for 11 players among the 160 nominated by media members – one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards – and those receiving the highest combined vote totals will be named to the All-Star Fan XI which will be unveiled at halftime of the Panama vs. USA CONCACAF Gold Cup match on July 13 on FOX Sports 1 and Univision Deportes Network.
In addition to the online ballot, fans can also vote on social media using Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. An eligible vote on those social media platforms consists of the hashtag #MLSAllStar and the player's full name (first and last required) or his Twitter/Instagram handle (how to vote using social media).
Saunders, Josh
Hernandez, Jason
Wingert, Chris
Ballouchy, Mehdi
Diskerud, Mix
Grabavoy, Ned
Shelton, Khiry
Villa, David
READ: Vote using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
One of the three forward spots on the All-Star Fan XI will be determined by the AT&T/EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. Fans have the opportunity to vote one forward into the All-Star Game by scoring goals in EA SPORTS FIFA 15 on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. The forward with the most votes on July 3 – one goal equals one vote – will occupy one of the forward spots on the All-Star Fan XI.
Media, fans, players, the All-Star coach and MLS Commissioner Don Garber will all contribute in the All-Star selection process, while All-Star head coach and Colorado Rapids manager Pablo Mastroeni chooses the gameday roster and the starting lineup to face Tottenham on July 29.
In addition to the 11 players from the All-Star Fan XI, the MLS All-Star team's gameday roster will also consist of two selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber and other eligible players who received votes from at least two players during the voting process.
The remainder of the 32 All-Stars named annually (known as the "inactive roster") are selected by MLS players per the collective bargaining agreement. The final group of 32 All-Stars, including active and inactive players, consists of: four goalkeepers, eight defenders, 13 midfielders and seven forwards.
