Former Bengals star wide receiver Chad Johnson will take part in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge July 28.
The event is part of the week’s all-star festivities, culminating in the MLS All-Star Game July 29. All the events take place in Charlotte.
Each event in the skills challenge will have at least one celebrity guest competitor.
Johnson will compete in the Crossbar Challenge, where the competitors will try to strike the crossbar with the ball from the top of the 18-yard goal box.
A lifelong soccer fan, he co-hosts "The Late Run" alongside Raheem Taylor-Parkes, a weekly soccer podcast featuring candid conversations with some of the biggest names in the global game.
Johnson recently competed in The Soccer Tournament – a special 7v7 soccer event
featuring celebrities. He had a trial with MLS club Sporting Kansas City in 2011, five appearances with Boca Raton FC (NPSL) in 2019, and has served as a TV analyst for World Cup coverage.
FC Cincinnati players at MLS All-Star competitions
FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander will compete in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge for a third consecutive season. Last year, Evander broke the record for the most points scored by an individual player in the All-Star Shooting Challenge (72). The event this year takes place at Truist Field in Charlotte, and will be broadcast live on Apple TV 7:30 p.m. July 28.
Evander is the only FC Cincinnati player and one of 29 MLS players set to compete against the best of Mexico’s Liga MX in the 2026 MLS All-Star Game presented by Chime at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Kickoff is 8 p.m. July 29 and will also be live on Apple TV.
Before that, two players from the FC Cincinnati Academy will compete in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. July 27, and broadcast on MLS’ YouTube channel and on MLSsoccer.com.
FC Cincinnati Academy goalkeeper Connor Dale and defender Dom Lester were selected to the East Roster for the East vs. West style match. The MLS NEXT All-Star Game will feature 44 of the best young players from across the country and will showcase the future soccer stars of North America.
Dale and Lester become the eighth and ninth players to be selected to the MLS NEXT All-Star Roster since 2022. The FC Cincinnati Academy have had at least one player selected to the MLS NEXT All-Star Roster in each year of the competition.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals legend Chad Johnson, will compete in MLS All-Star challenge
