The Soccer Tournament

The Soccer Tournament (TST) is a seven-a-side association football tournament played in the United States, established by TBT Enterprises, creator of The Basketball Tournament (TBT). TST was announced on October 11, 2022 to feature 32 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize.[1][2][3] TST is partly owned by former Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul.[4]

The Soccer Tournament
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2024
SportAssociation football
(7-on-7)
Founded2023
FounderJon Mugar
Dan Friel
Owner(s)TBT Enterprises, LLC
CEOJon Mugar
Motto$1 million prize, winner-take-all.
No. of teams32
CountriesUnited States
HeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts
Most recent
champion(s)		Newtown Pride FC
(2023)
Most titlesNewtown Pride FC
(1 title)
TV partner(s)NBC Sports
Streaming partner(s)Peacock, YouTube, Facebook Watch
Tournament formatMulti-stage tournament
Official websitethetournament.com/tst

The first edition took place in Cary, North Carolina from June 1–4, 2023.[1] Newtown Pride FC won the initial tournament along with the $1 million prize.[5]

Format

Matches are played on a reduced-size field with slightly smaller goals than normal and consist of 20-minute halves. The Elam Ending, arguably TBT's most iconic feature, has been adapted to a soccer setting; after the end of the second half, the remainder of the match consists of "Target Score Time", with the target score being set by adding one goal to the leading (or tied) team's score, i.e. if a game is standing at 3–1 after full time, the target score will be set to 4. The game ends once the target score is reached by either team. If the target is not reached after 5 minutes, one outfield player from each team exits the field until only one is left, with the process continuing every 5 minutes until the winning goal is scored.[6][7]

Additional rule changes compared to regulation football include the prohibition of sliding tackles, the prohibition of punting or drop-kicks by goalkeepers, throw-ins being replaced by indirect free kicks, and the absence of offside.[8]

Teams

2023

Winners
Year Team
2023 Newtown Pride FC

Controversy

During the match between West Ham United F.C. and Dallas United, players of West Ham walked off the pitch after an alleged racial slur said by a Dallas player.[9][10] After an investigation, TST and Dallas mutually agreed in Dallas United's withdrawal from the tournament.[9]

References
  1. "The $1m TST will be full of soccer legends and Hollywood headliners". ESPN.com. May 4, 2023.
  2. Casey, Tim. "Winner-Takes-All Soccer Tournament For $1 Million Prize Coming To North Carolina In June 2023". Forbes.
  3. Greenberg, Doug (October 11, 2022). "TBT Enterprises Launches $1M Soccer Tournament". Front Office Sports.
  4. "Is TST the Future of Soccer?". Connect Meetings. October 18, 2022.
  5. Maurer, Pablo; Cardenas, Felipe. "Newtown Pride FC wins The Soccer Tournament, $1 million prize". The Athletic.
  6. Bonagura, Kyle (October 11, 2022). "The Basketball Tournament organizers announce $1m winner-take-all soccer event". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  7. Bonagura, Kyle (June 4, 2023). "Wrexham and World Cup legends bring star-studded teams to new winner-take-all soccer tournament". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  8. "Tournament Rules".
  9. "West Ham 7s walk off at TST after alleged slur". ESPN.com. June 2, 2023.
  10. "West Ham walk off from TST match over alleged racial slur from Dallas United player – with American side withdrawing from tournament | Goal.com UK". www.goal.com. June 2, 2023.
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