MLS All-Star Skills Competition

Developing Five Original Competition Games

In 2021, Major League Soccer approached Production Theory with specific player skills that MLS wanted us to integrate into five original apparatus for players to compete on. The brief was to turn those skills into physical challenges where MLS All-Stars and visiting teams could compete head-to-head, showcasing the skills that make them exceptional players.

The games needed to be competitive, fair and entertaining for spectators. They also needed apparatus that would perform reliably during a live broadcast. Production Theory took responsibility for developing that equipment from concept through delivery, establishing a partnership that completed its sixth consecutive year in 2026.

Through TheoryLab, our team brought game development, research and custom fabrication into one process. Each challenge required us to consider how the equipment’s behavior would shape the competition, from the difficulty of hitting a target to the consistency of its response.

Hundreds of Hours of Research and Development

Turning an initial game concept into a competition for professional athletes requires extensive development. A target’s movement or response can affect the difficulty of a challenge—and ultimately its outcome. Consistency was central to making the games fair.

Our team spent hundreds of hours researching and developing how the apparatus would function. That work produced proprietary solutions for moving targets, drop targets and retracting targets, designed around the demands of each competition.

Live television left no room for equipment failure. With professional athletes competing head-to-head and an international audience watching in real time, a missed target response or stalled mechanism could interrupt the broadcast and compromise the competition. The apparatus had to work correctly, consistently and on cue.

That requirement shaped our design from the beginning. Moving, drop and retracting targets had to withstand professional-level play while delivering predictable responses throughout each challenge. Our research and development focused on making those mechanisms dependable under the demands of live competition. Reliability was a fundamental design requirement: the equipment had to support the athletes and the broadcast without becoming the story.

We developed the apparatus and gameplay together, working through how each mechanism would support a competitive challenge. The resulting target systems remain proprietary to Production Theory.

Custom Apparatus Across Six Challenges

Across the partnership, Production Theory has developed and fabricated apparatus for:

• Shooting Challenge: Target-based competition testing shooting accuracy under time pressure.
• Touch Challenge: A game built around controlling incoming balls and directing them into a scoring apparatus.
• Cross and Volley Challenge: A competition showcasing coordinated delivery, finishing technique and creative volleys.
• Passing Challenge: Head-to-head precision passing, with players racing to complete a sequence of targets.
• Crossbar Challenge: An accuracy challenge centered on striking the crossbar.
• Relay Challenge: Newly developed for 2026, combining elements of the skills competitions into a timed team race between MLS and LIGA MX.

Each challenge required a different approach to the physical equipment. Together, they demonstrate the range of the project: original competition apparatus developed to test distinct soccer skills, supported by custom mechanisms that make the games function.

From Early Concepts to Delivery in 90 Days

For the first year, Production Theory had just 90 days from early concept development to delivery.

Within that window, our team had to resolve how five different games would function, develop their apparatus and complete fabrication. Research and development were a substantial part of the production scope, with questions about gameplay and mechanical performance informing the finished builds.

That initial deadline established the foundation for an ongoing program. Over the following years, our involvement continued as the competition evolved, including the development of the new Relay Challenge for 2026.

Six Seasons on an International Stage

The MLS All-Star Skills Challenge has become an established feature of All-Star Week, bringing elite players together in a format that gives fans a different view of their abilities. In 2023, the MLS All-Stars faced Arsenal FC in Washington, D.C., in front of a capacity crowd.

By 2026, the event was available through Apple TV in more than 100 countries and regions, with coverage in English, Spanish and French. That year’s competition introduced the team relay, extending the program with a new format.

For Production Theory, six consecutive years of involvement represent a sustained collaboration built around original game development and dependable competition apparatus. The project demonstrates TheoryLab’s ability to take skills that MLS wanted to integrate into apparatus and develop equipment used by professional athletes on a live international stage.

Key Services Provided

• Concept Development: Translating skills that MLS wanted to integrate into apparatus into distinct physical challenges.
• Gamification: Developing how the apparatus supports competitive, fair gameplay.
• Research and Development: Hundreds of hours dedicated to game function and mechanical performance.
• Technical Design: Developing proprietary moving, drop and retracting target systems.
• Custom Fabrication: Building the apparatus for the skills competitions.
• Project Delivery: Taking the initial five-game program from early concepts to delivery within 90 days.