A-Leagues All Stars Game Explained

A-League All Stars
Founded:	2013
Region:	Australia (AFC)
Number Of Teams:	2
Broadcasters:	Network 10

The A-Leagues All Star Game is an association football match contested by the A-Leagues All Stars team against an invitee club. The All Stars team is made up of selected A-League Men or A-League Women players. The game is played during the footballing off-season, the first of which was held on 20 July 2013.

After the 2014 edition, the All Star Game was not held for almost a decade, before the concept was revived in 2022 and was expected to continue for at least the 2023, 2024 and 2025 A-League seasons as part of the commercial agreement with the NSW State Government to play a "Football Festival" culminating with the A-League Grand final in Sydney for those three seasons.

A-League All Stars Men

Background

On 13 November 2012, it was confirmed that Manchester United would come to Australia and play an all-star team consisting of A-League players.^[1] The inaugural A-League All Stars Game took place on 20 July 2013, against Manchester United. The A-League team was picked by an online vote by fans and by the appointed manager. On 20 December 2013, it was confirmed that Juventus would compete against the all-star team for the 2014 game, again hosted in Sydney.^[2] On 6 April 2022 it was announced that a third A-League All Stars match would be held against Barcelona on 25 May 2022, again in Sydney.^{[3] [4]}

The 2023 edition was under negotiations with Bayern Munich to appear as the foreign club but the APL were unable to fund the multi-million dollar appearance fee.^[5]

On 18 March 2024, it was announced that the A-League All Stars would be facing Premier League side Newcastle United on 24 May 2024 as part of Global Football Week Melbourne, 5 days after the conclusion of the Premier League season. The game was played at Marvel Stadium, and is the first time in 10 years that United have visited Australia.^[6]

Games

The 2013 and 2014 matches were televised in Australia by Seven Network. The 2022 and 2024 matches were televised on 10 Bold.

A-Leagues All Stars Women

Background

On 18 March 2024, it was announced that the A-League All Stars would be facing Women's Super League side Arsenal on 24 May 2024 as part of Global Football Week Melbourne, 5 days after the conclusion of the WSL season. The game was played at Marvel Stadium.

Games

The 2024 Match was broadcast on 10 Bold.

Notes and References

1. News: Stage set for Manchester United to play A-League all-stars. The Australian. 20 July 2013. 22 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121122062829/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/football/stage-set-for-manchester-united-to-play-a-league-all-stars/story-fn63e0vj-1226515422264. live.
2. Web site: Italian giants Juventus coming to Sydney . . 20 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131221104448/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleagueallstars/news-display/italian-giants-juventus-coming-to-sydney/81283 . 21 December 2013 .
3. News: Barcelona set to play in Sydney against A-League All Stars. Dominic. Bossi. The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 March 2022. 11 March 2022. 11 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220311102015/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/barcelona-set-to-play-in-sydney-against-a-league-all-stars-20220311-p5a3zz.html. live.
4. Web site: Barcelona announce Sydney tour to play A-Leagues All Stars. A-League Men. 6 April 2022. 6 April 2022. 6 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220406073952/https://keepup.com.au/news/barcelona-announce-sydney-tour-to-play-a-leagues-all-stars. live.
5. Web site: Bayern blow kills ALM All Stars clash as GF locked in . 2 May 2023 . 2 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502093155/https://www.aapnews.com.au/news/bayern-blow-kills-alm-all-stars-clash-as-gf-locked-in/wPogxiqZ . live .
6. Web site: 2024-03-18 . Newcastle United announce post-season matches in Australia . 2024-03-18 . Newcastle United Football Club . en.