Controversies in the Premier League continue to cause disruption within its football community but it may be time for the Premier League to think outside the box and learn from NBA’s All-Star Weekend and create one of their own.

Every year the NBA comes together for a weekend to celebrate its sport. The best players in the league face off in the All-Star game and other events to showcase some of basketball’s most talented players.

The Premier League, on the other hand, has never seemed more divided. Constant disputes over VAR, the number of substitutes, and diving have led to fans, players, and managers falling out of love with the league. An All-Star weekend showcasing arguably the best league in the world could reunite it. In this article, we go through how the weekend would work and make our selections for each event.

All-Star Weekend Could Reunite the Premier League

Premier League Disconnected From Fans

Structure

The main event of every All-Star weekend is, of course, the All-Star game and that would take place on a Sunday night. 22 players would be selected for the event with players from other events acting as reserves. 11 players from the south and 11 from the north would play but due to the current strength of the teams of the north compared with the south, the teams would be decided with a draft.

Other events on the weekend would include a skills challenge, similar to the one the MLS use for their All-Star game, A 100m race, and a Rising Stars game with these events taking place on Friday and Saturday.

100m Race

Fans and players alike have been debating for ages who the fastest Premier League players are, this event gives us a chance to finally find that out. Quick doesn’t always equal good in football though so players appearing in this event may see it as their only chance to gain some recognition.

Participants

Here’s who will be competing in the event, along with their recorded speed.

Skills Challenge

The skills event in the MLS features three three-player teams competing against each other in mini-games and we’re going to copy the same format. The Mini games will include a dribbling assault course, a crossbar challenge, a passing challenge, and a volleying challenge.

The teams will be divided into North, South, and Midlands with the winning team winning £25,000 for a charity of choice.

Participants

North- Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, and Mohamed Salah

Midlands- Harvey Barnes, Jack Grealish, and Pedro Neto

South- Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount

Rising Stars Games

The NBA does this game between first and second-year players in the league but as players can spend years at a club before breaking through, for our version of the game we’ll choose players aged 22 or younger.

Teams will be separated into north and south and 15 players will be selected for both sides. These players will be on the bench for the All-Star game on Sunday.

Participants

North

Subs

South

Subs

*Robert Sanchez is 23 but due to the lack of young goalkeepers in the south, he’s been selected.

Main Event: Premier League All-Star Game

The main event of the weekend and a showcase of the best players the league has to offer. The teams will be decided through a fan vote, selecting 11 players from the North and 11 from the South, and then the two most voted players will draft a team each.

Participants

North

South

Premier League All-Star Game Remains Unlikely

While it’s fun to mess around with the idea of the game happening, the likelihood that it does is relatively low. Premier League clubs are already furious over the fixture schedule so to add two extra 90 minute games for some of their best players wouldn’t go down too well. So as the NBA prepares for one of the most entertaining weekends of the season the Premier League remains disconnected from its fans.

 

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