Major League Soccer will head to Los Angeles next month for its annual All-Star Game. A collection of the league’s top players will take on a similar group from Mexico’s top domestic league, Liga MX, and on Tuesday morning, we learned about the L.A.-inspired threads that MLS players will wear when they take the pitch.
MLS and adidas teamed up to announce the kits, which are a solid black with a gold trim and feature the league’s crest, along with a number of features that serve as nods to the host city and the significance of this specific game.
Designed to light up the night, symbolic to the city of Los Angeles.
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— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 6, 2021
“The 2021 MLS All-Star Authentic player jersey will light up the night, symbolic to the city of Los Angeles,” MLS said in a release. “The Black jersey features unique reflective trims to shine on a backdrop of black and gold and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Inspired by Art Deco architecture in Los Angeles, the jersey is designed from adidas Aeroready performance fabric made up of stars and maple leafs that represent the U.S. and Canadian clubs of MLS. The right sleeve has the LA21 All-Star Game patch and the back-neck features LA staples and inspired icons of stars, ocean waves and freeways as well as the No. 25 to signify the 25th MLS All-Star Game.”
There’s intrigue over the format — since 2005, a team of MLS’ best has taken on a European side during its preseason for an All-Star Game, but this year, Major League Soccer will play host to a rival domestic league. While there is quite the rivalry between Mexico and the United States on the international level, Liga MX and MLS clubs compete annually to win CONCACAF Champions League, with no MLS team winning the event since the L.A. Galaxy won the then-Champions Cup in 2000, and in the recently-established Campeones Cup, which pits the winners of each league against one another. Additionally, speculation has been swirling for years ahead of the 2026 World Cup — scheduled to be split between Canada, Mexico, and the United States — of a potential merger of the two leagues.
The 2021 MLS All-Star Game is slated to take place on Aug. 25 at Banc of California Stadium.