MLS unveils official shirts for 2016 All-Star Game vs. Arsenal

On July 28th, Major League Soccer will hold their annual All-Star Game, and they’re going to have some high profile guests/opponents for that friendly at San Jose’s Avaya Stadium in the form of Arsenal from England. These games are always pretty fun to watch, and MLS’s All-Stars will be well-dressed for the occasion after they unveiled their shirt for this year’s game.

The league, Adidas, and Soccer Bible teamed up to unveil the shirt on Soccer Bible’s website via a photoshoot, and that was also where we got an explanation for the inspiration behind this year’s shirt:

Mike Walker, Global Product Manager for Major League Soccer explains; “Each year we like to incorporate aspects of the host team and city into the shirt. For 2016 the game is at the Quakes new stadium in San Jose, so we took inspiration from the club’s crest and the different shades of blue from the seats inside the stadium.”

It also marks the second year in a row in which the league just decided to use the league’s color scheme instead of going with a design that lifted the host team’s color scheme.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a shoutout to local flavor, either — the jock tag includes three redwood trees, which is a nod to the wood that’s actually used within the stadium.

Personally, I’m a fan of the shirt. It’s definitely an upgrade over last year’s shirt. I’m not a fan of the faux collar, but it doesn’t take too much away from what’s a pretty solid-looking shirt. Do you agree?