Jura and team West will face team East on July 19
PORTLAND, Ore. – Timbers Academy defender Sawyer Jura was selected for the 2023 MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate, the league announced today. The match will feature 44 players in an East versus West format at the Naval Academy’s Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis, Maryland on Wednesday, July 19 at 7:30 a.m. PT.
Jura will join team West to face off against team East in the second inaugural MLS NEXT All-Star Game. The 17-year-old fullback has made nine appearances for the U-17 U.S. Men’s Youth National Team since making his debut on Sept. 21, 2022. Most recently, Jura was called into the U-17’s April training camp after helping the U.S. clinch a 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup berth.
MLS NEXT will provide the selected players with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity during MLS All-Star Week, which will include a full slate of evening programming events and activities in advance of the match. The players will be fully integrated into MLS All-Star Week festivities, which include team training, the All-Star Skills Challenge on July 18 and the MLS All-Star Game on July 19. Each MLS NEXT All-Star team will also conduct their own training sessions leading up to their match on Wednesday morning.
The 44 players were selected by MLS NEXT personnel following the conclusion of the 2023 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase. To be eligible for selection, players must have been born between 2005-2007, have competed in the MLS NEXT regular season, and played in at least one of the MLS NEXT premier events this season – MLS NEXT Fest, MLS NEXT Flex, Generation adidas Cup, or the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase.
The match will be streamed live from MLS NEXT’s (@mlsnext) TikTok account with multiple access points in the app. Admission to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game is free of cost.
