The MLS All-Star Game at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., will pit the league's all-stars against Chivas of Guadalajara on Aug. 2. (live on ABC 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT).
Last year's All-Star Game featured a clash between the all-stars and the U.S. national team. In the 1998 game, the league's top domestic players faced its top international players. The other all-star games since the league's inception in 1996 were East-West battles.
Chivas, the only team in Mexico that fields only Mexican players, is the nation's most popular club on both sides of the border. It was won 10 league titles, the last coming in 1997.
Jorge Vergara, founder of nutritional-supplement company, Grupo Omnilife, acquired Chivas in November of 2002. His entertainment ventures include the production of Mexican hit film, ''Y Tu Mama Tambien.''
''We have just now established a relationship with MLS, but in the future [becoming an investor in the MLS] is something that we will explore down the road,'' Vergara said. ''Chivas has the greatest following in the world, so we must look at all our options.''
''In a larger sense, the future of Mexican soccer and U.S. Soccer are tied together,'' said MLS deputy commmissioner Ivan Gazidis. ''These are two countries which are neighbors. We're tied together demographically, socially and economically. Now we're integrating into the world soccer scene together. In a wider sense that will only raise soccer in this region and benefit us as we go out to compete against other regions in the world.''