The A-League has announced that Dwight Yorke has been named Head Coach of the 2022 A-League All Stars team, which is set to face Spanish giants FC Barcelona on May 25 at Accor Stadium.

Yorke, who spent 16 seasons in the English Premier League playing for Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City and Sunderland, is positioned for a return to Australian football 15 years after his last appearance.

He was the A-League's original star, playing a key role in the launch of the competition 17 years ago when he signed for Sydney FC.

Yorke said: "I loved playing in the A-League at its inception and I cannot wait to be back in front of the fans. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of the A-League's best men's talent against one of the world's biggest club's and it is an honour to be welcomed back to Australia for this role."

Danny Townsend, CEO of Australian Professional Leagues, said: "Dwight is the ideal person for this position - a former player with an incredible footballing pedigree and first hand experience of playing Australian football. The All Stars are back for the first time since 2014 and we are going to put on the best possible show for fans."

Yorke completed his UEFA Pro Licence coaching qualification in early 2022. He will lead the All Stars against FC Barcelona, the team he famously scored against at their Nou Camp stadium in the UEFA Champions League in 1999.

A number of Yorke's former Sydney FC teammates are now involved in coaching in the Isuzu UTE A-League, including Steve Corica at Sydney FC, Ufuk Talay at Wellington and Mark Rudan at Western Sydney Wanderers.

The assistant coaches and process for squad selection will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets are on sale now at https://barcainsydney.com.au/.