Women’s Professional Soccer announced today that that Atlanta Beat’s new stadium in Kennesaw, GA, will be the site of the 2010 WPS All-Star Game on June 30, 2010 (FSC). There will also be a unique format to pick players for the game.
“Atlanta, with its wonderful new stadium built specifically for WPS, will be a fantastic venue for our second WPS All-Star Game,” said WPS commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “We decided to try something different this year with our format and move the date to mid-season to provide some separation from our WPS Championship. It should make for an incredible mid-summer festival of the world’s best soccer league for women.”
A total pool of 36 players will be selected in early-June as WPS All-Stars, with 22 players chosen through voting by teams, players, media and fans, and another 14 All-Star Coaches and Commissioner’s picks. All 36 players will then travel to Atlanta. In Atlanta, the two captains together with the team coaches will select the Starting XI for each team in an alternating “playground pick-em” style format during a public event in the days prior to the WPS All-Star Game.
“We thought this would be a great way to celebrate the roots of the sport: the camaraderie, the inclusiveness and that intrinsic pick-up nature of soccer on a playground field,” said Antonucci. “We think it’s a fun format to test out during the early years of our league and will be a very engaging way for fans to connect with the players in advance of the All-Star Game.”
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