LOS ANGELES (Monday, July 15, 2024) – Major League Soccer today announced that LA Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig will compete in the 2024 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T. The best from Major League Soccer and stars from Mexico’s top soccer league, LIGA MX, will compete alongside standouts from NWSL, Liga MX Femenil and League Greats in a test of soccer skills at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, July 23 at 4:30 p.m. PT. The event will broadcast live exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish.
The competition is comprised of five head-to-head contests rooted in the sport that require ball control, accuracy, strategy, and teamwork. For more information about the five challenges, click here.
Puig, who will compete in the Passing, Touch and Cross & Volley Challenges, has totaled 16 goal contributions (6 goals, 10 assists) in 20 matches played (19 starts) across 1,730 minutes of action for the Galaxy during the 2024 MLS Regular Season. This season, Puig leads all players in MLS this season in touches (1,771), passes attempted (1,898), passes completed (1,675), fouls suffered (55) and multi-assist performances (4) and ranks fourth in the league in distance covered in possession (103.82 km). In 66 career appearances (63 starts) across all competitions in three seasons with the LA Galaxy (2022-Present), Puig has totaled 41 goal contributions (18 goals, 23 assists).
Three participants on the MLS roster, including St. Louis CITY SC and reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Roman Bürki, Acosta and Puig have previously completed in the Skills Challenge. The remaining players including Hernández, former Spain Men’s National Team defender Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF), European Championship-winner Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC), FIFA World Cup-winner Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami CF), midfielder Evander (Portland Timbers), midfielder Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), and goalkeeper Maarten Paes (FC Dallas), are set to compete in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T for the first time.
Representing LIGA MX, former Mexico Men’s National Team player Andrés Guardado (León), 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winner Salomón Rondón (Pachuca), and 2024 LIGA MX Clausura champion and Jonathan Dos Santos (Club América) will lead the 10-man LIGA MX Skills Challenge squad. Also participating will be Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Juan Brunetta (Tigres), Sergio Canales (Monterrey), Cesar Huerta (Pumas UNAM), Luis Malagon (Club América), Kevin Mier (Cruz Azul), and Gonzalo Piovi (Cruz Azul).
MLS and LIGA MX are tied in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T intracontinental rivalry. LIGA MX won the first installment in Los Angeles in 2021, with former Cruz Azul and current Portland Timbers forward Jonathan RodrÃguez hitting the winning shot in the Crossbar Challenge presented by GilletteLabs (Watch here). MLS took the honors in Minnesota when Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar struck the crossbar for the victory shot in the Crossbar Challenge presented by GilletteLabs in 2022 (Watch here).
Former LA Galaxy players Jonathan Dos Santos, Sacha Kljestan and Luis Hernández will also compete in the 2024 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge. For the full list of participants in the competition, click here.
For player bios and a listing of which event each player will participate in, click here.
