Major League Soccer, TEAM at the 2019 MLS All-Star Game -

08/01/2019

Major League Soccer (MLS) and TEAM Coalition encouraged supporters to be responsible while attending the 2019 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, FL. The Responsibility Has Its Rewards sweepstakes winner had the ultimate MLS supporter experience.

Responsibility Has Its Rewards is a league-wide sweepstakes that rewards one randomly-selected supporter who pledged to be a designated driver during the previous season with a trip to the MLS All-Star Game. This year’s winner is John Fitzsimmons, a responsible Colorado Rapids supporter who attended the MLS All-Star Game with his wife, Aimee Fitzsimmons.

John served as the representative of the nearly 50,000 MLS supporters who pledged to be responsible at during the 2018 season.

MLS clubs promote responsible drinking among soccer supporters by implementing designated driver and responsible fan programs at their stadiums throughout the season. In addition, many MLS stadiums conduct training for their employees in effective alcohol management.

Supporting TEAM Coalition is a no-brainer for Major League Soccer. Alcohol management is an important part of our league security plan and the security plans of all 24 Clubs. TEAM Coalition’s training program and the Responsibility Has Its Rewards program make our events safer and more secure for all attending and supporting soccer, thereby improving the game day experience for all our guests.Jeff Stonebreaker, Vice President of Operations & Security with Major League Soccer

The success of the Responsibility Has Its Rewards campaign with Major League Soccer is a direct result of the commitment from the League, the MLS clubs, sponsors, concessionaires and all the campaign partners. Teamwork is what this campaign is all about. We are demonstrating that when everyone – including the fans – takes responsibility, everyone wins.Jill Pepper, Executive Director, TEAM Coalition

Major League Soccer

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, and was founded in 1996 after the USA hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup. MLS kicked off its 24th season on March 2, 2019 with 24 Clubs. For more information about MLS, visit www.MLSsoccer.com.

TEAM Coalition

TEAM Coalition is an alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaires, stadium service providers, the beer industry, distillers, broadcasters, traffic safety experts and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities. TEAM Coalition members and supporters include Major League Soccer, Spectra, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Americrown, Aramark, Delaware North Sportservice, Legends, Beer Institute, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Constellation Brands, MillerCoors, Brown-Forman, Live Nation, Lyft, National Association of Broadcasters, International Association of Venue Managers, Stadium Managers Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information visit www.TEAMCoalition.org or www.FansDontLetFansDriveDrunk.org.

US DOT / NHTSA 2018 NATIONAL DATA:

• In 2018, 10,511 people were killed as a result of alcohol-related (BAC > 0.08) car crashes, an decrease of 3.6% from the 10,908 fatalities in 2017.

• Many, if not most of those lives would have been saved if people did not drive when they were impaired by alcohol or if they used sober, designated drivers or if they simply wore their seat belts.

• Statistics and research clearly show that 21-34 year old males are the demographic most likely to be involved in an automobile crash, drive when impaired by alcohol, and fail to buckle up.