Seattle Sounders FC today announced the launch of its Best XI voting campaign, giving fans, media and high-level club stakeholders the opportunity to determine the all-time top Sounders lineup from the team’s MLS era. The Best XI vote is part of Sounders FC’s Celebrating 10 Years in MLS initiative announced earlier this season, with the final selections to be revealed on July 10 with public recognition at the club’s July 14 home match vs. Atlanta United FC.
Fan voting is taking place over a four-week period, with each position group – goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards – open for one week, beginning today, May 15, with goalkeepers. Fans may vote via an interactive tool on SoundersFC.com/BestXI. Only one slate of votes per position group may be cast from each unique IP address.
The fan voting schedule is as follows: goalkeepers – May 15-21, defenders – May 22-28, midfielders – May 29-June 4, forwards – June 5-11. Furthermore, exclusive content for each position, including videos, photos and informational articles on players throughout the franchise’s history will be available on the Best XI page to help fans make their decisions.
The final Best XI is determined by a weighted vote, similar to the MLS All-Star and end-of-season league awards processes, with the fan vote counting for 25% of the total. The remaining 75% is to be determined by select media (25%), Alliance Council (25%) and high-level club stakeholders (25%) such as ownership, front office members and the club’s technical staff.
Media voting is scheduled to take place on a separate platform from the fan vote, with working members of the press to be contacted by Sounders FC Communications with instructions on submitting media ballots.
Upon conclusion of the voting period, ballots will be tallied and the ultimate Sounders FC Best XI announced on July 10.
Sounders FC reserves the right to modify, cancel or suspend all or part of its online fan voting should viruses, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes beyond its control impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play of the vote.
