FOX Sports Sets Announcers for 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game

Play-by-play announcer John Strong, analyst Brad Friedel, the former Tottenham goalkeeper who recently retired after a stellar 21-year career, and sideline reporter Julie Stewart-Binks, have the call when FOX Sports 1 televises the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game in primetime on Wednesday, July 29, live from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.

The match, a highlight of FOX Sports’ Summer of Soccer, pits a team of MLS All-Stars against the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur. Coverage begins at 8:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1 with a one-hour pregame show live from an on-location set, hosted by Rob Stone with analysts Eric Wynalda, Alexi Lalas and Stuart Holden. The foursome also provides halftime and postgame analysis and commentary.

FOX Sports 1’s AMERICA’S PREGAME (5:00 PM ET) and FOX SPORTS LIVE (11:00 PM ET) kick off AT&T MLS ALL-STAR GAME coverage with features and reports on Monday (7/27) and Tuesday (7/28).

FOX Sports soccer insider and Sports Illustrated senior contributor Grant Wahl joins the studio crew in Colorado to provide a special look back at the league’s 20-year history, beginning with the first-ever MLS goal scored by Wynalda. The halftime show features an interview with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who discusses his two All-Star selections, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and the current state of the league.

FOX Sports introduces a new production element to enhance the MLS All-Star Game telecast, as viewers get an exclusive opportunity to listen to the match’s fourth official, who has agreed to wear a microphone during the game. Throughout the match, Strong and Friedel are able to converse with the official and get real-time feedback into the crew’s decisions, particularly during controversial calls or other situations involving officiating. This is the first time in MLS history a working game official is available for talkback during a match telecast.

FOX Sports 1 exclusively unveiled the MLS Fan XI, All-Star selections as voted on by MLS supporters, and Garber’s picks, which included the selection of Premier League legends Gerrard and Lampard, on July 13. The Commissioner’s selections and the MLS Fan XI feature three of the league’s most prominent international stars as well as eight U.S. National Team veterans. First-year MLS players Kaka of Orlando City SC and David Villa of New York City FC were voted in along with Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando, Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey, LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez and Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi. The 2015 AT&T MLS Gameday Roster, chosen by All-Star head coach Pablo Mastroeni, was unveiled on July 18 during halftime of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s win over Cuba in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal on FOX broadcast network.

FOX Sports’ Summer of Soccer features more than 200 live matches between Memorial Day and Labor Day, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, the UEFA Champions League Final, the FA Cup, the UEFA Europa League Final, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Major League Soccer All-Star Game and league matches every Sunday, the International Champions Cup, the debut of the Bundesliga on FOX Sports 1, the FA Community Shield, the Copa Libertadores Final and additional matches featuring both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams.