The Soccer Tournament unveils groups for 16 women's teams battling for $1 million prize
Founded by TBT Enterprises, which also created The Basketball Tournament, The Soccer Tournament (TST) was unveiled in 2022 with 32 men's teams. Games are played on a smaller field to speed up the action, with each game featuring two 20-minute halves, but the real twist comes after the last whistle. TST borrows the 'Elam Ending' from its basketball roots and gives it a soccer spin. Instead of heading to overtime or penalties, teams race to hit a target score — one goal more than the leading team's total at the final whistle. If no one scores after five minutes, the game gets wilder as each team loses a player every three minutes until there's a two-on-two duel for the winning goal.
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TST added the women's tournament in 2024 and doubled the size of the women's side this year, expanding from eight to 16 teams after receiving more than 50 applications for the coveted spots. More than 500 players will compete across four groups of four teams each, with matches held over four days from June 6-9.
'Our inaugural women's championship game viewership performed exceptionally well, as we grew our audience 452 percent from the beginning of the game until the moment the game-winning goal was scored,' Jon Mugar, the founder and CEO of TST, told The Athletic. 'Both fans in attendance and people at home loved the product.' The tournament renewed its broadcast deal with ESPN+, which will stream 27 men's and women's matches live. An additional 20 matches will also air on ESPNU.
That surge in interest comes just as some of the biggest names in women's soccer take the field.
Led by USWNT and UNC legend Heather O'Reilly, the U.S. Women's team — the reigning TST champion — is back to defend its crown. This year's squad is stacked with star power, including World Cup defender Ali Krieger and 2025 Soccer Hall of Famer Carli Lloyd. The team's roster also features former Bay FC and Scottish national team player Jen Beattie, USWNT defenders Cat Whitehill and Jo Lohman, and top players from the University of North Carolina.
O'Reilly's side will kick off Group A play on June 5 against Austin Rise FC — a 100-percent women-owned, semi-professional team from the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) making its tournament debut. The match will be televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN+.
Austin Rise is part of a batch of new entrants, including Albion SC from San Diego, Atlanta-based Process FC, Speedy Turtles, Bumpy Pitch, Reunion City Dallas and Drunken Monkeys, led by legendary midfielder Brazilian national Formiga, who is making her TST debut.
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Another former USWNT legend making a comeback at TST is former USWNT and Seattle Reign goalkeeper Hope Solo. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and 2015 World Cup winner will captain Solo FC, a team of legends and rising stars from around the world, with a focus on giving opportunities to players from underrepresented communities around the world.
'I want to shine a light on those players from around the world who you've never heard of who are great players who have the ability to get NCAA scholarships and professional contracts,' Solo explained during TST's podcast back in February. 'They're playing for the experience because it might pull them out and get them a college scholarship or a pro contract.'
Solo's side will debut against Speedy Turtles, one of the newcomers, on June 5, also broadcast on ESPNU/ESPN+.
USWNT legends won't be alone in chasing the title, with plenty of returning heavyweights ready to make a run at the $1 million prize.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Wrexham Red Dragons (Group B) are also returning to Cary, N.C., as is Streetball Canada (Group C) with an all-star squad featuring some of Canada's top national team players from the past. The NWSL's North Carolina Courage is also back to compete in Group D. Last year, the Courage fell to the U.S. Women in the final. This year, they are sending a squad that will feature current youth academy players, academy graduates currently playing in college and a few more well-known players. Angel City FC's TST team, Angel City 7, also returns to the tournament, competing in the same group as O'Reilly's U.S. Women, Austin Rise FC and Process FC.
In addition to the Courage and Angel City, the tournament welcomes the Kansas City Current this year. The team is sending players from its second team who currently play in the WPSL. Kansas City will play in Group B against Wrexham Red Dragons, Drunken Monkeys and Ultrain — a team supported by a soccer app founded in L.A. in 2020 and backed by pros like Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Curtis Jones (Liverpool) and Katie Zelem (Angel City).
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'Our goal is to become the preeminent soccer festival in the world,' Mugar said in a statement. 'Judging by the number of returning fans and teams, we are well on our way. I can't wait to see the level of competition this June!'
(Photo of Ali Krieger and Carli Lloyd: Valerie Terranova / Getty Images)
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