NEW YORK – Major League Soccer Wednesday opened the voting process for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game, which includes participation by players, fans, and media.

The game will be played on Wednesday, July 19, and feature the MLS All-Stars taking on Arsenal FC, the renowned 13-time English league champions, at Audi Field, home of D.C. United.

As part of the voting process, MLS reviewed performance metrics from the current season to categorize players in the positions where they are most utilized. Players will be selected in seven specific positions: goalkeeper, right back, center back, left back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, and forward/winger.

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Of the 26 MLS players to be selected for the All-Star Game, the breakdown is as follows:

* 12 players will be determined by a vote of MLS players, fans, and media. Each of the three voting groups will represent one-third of the combined vote.

* 12 players will be selected by MLS All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney of the host team, D.C. United.

* Two players will be selected by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

* Players, fans and media will cast their votes for 11 players in a 4-1-2-3 formation: one goalkeeper, one right back, two center backs, one left back, one defensive midfielder, two attacking midfielders and three forwards/wingers. The top players from each position from the combined vote will be named All-Stars. The 12th player selected will be the one who received the next-highest total of overall votes.

* To qualify for the ballot, players must have appeared in at least 50 percent of his club’s matches this season at the time the ballot was created on May 18. Players who did not qualify for the ballot are still eligible for selection by MLS All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney or Commissioner Garber.

Fan voting opened on Wednesday and will close at 11:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, June 14. All fans can vote on MLSsoccer.com/all-star/2023/vote/fan-vote or via the MLS App, and every fan has the unique opportunity to share their picks on social media.

Every player from each of the 29 MLS clubs will receive a unique link to vote for their peers. Approximately 500 members of the media who regularly cover MLS will also make their selections to represent MLS.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.