The Soccer Tournament (TST) is a seven-a-side association football

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

played in the United States, established by TBT Enterprises, creator of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 201 ...

(TBT). TST was announced on October 11, 2022 to feature 32 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. TST is partly owned by

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

. The first edition took place in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...

from June 1–4, 2023. Newtown Pride FC won the initial tournament along with the $1 million prize.

Format

Matches are played on a reduced-size field with slightly smaller goals than normal and consist of 20-minute halves. The

Elam Ending The Elam Ending is a rules format for basketball. Unlike traditional basketball rules, in which the game is played with four timed quarters, with the Elam Ending format, teams end the game by playing to a target score. A variation used by the NBA G ...

, 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. Additional rule changes compared to regulation football include the prohibition of

sliding tackle A sliding tackle, also called slide tackle, is a tackle in association football. It is completed with one leg extended to push the ball away from the opposing player. Sliding tackles can often be sources of controversy, particularly when players ...

s, the prohibition of punting or drop-kicks by goalkeepers,

throw-in A throw-in is a method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball has exited the side of the field of play. It is governed by Law 15 of The Laws of the Game. Award When the ball goes out of play past the touch-line ...

s being replaced by

indirect free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either direct or indirect, distinguished as follows: ...

s, and the absence of offside.

Teams

2023

Hashtag United Hashtag United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Len Salmon Stadium. Founded in 2016 by YouTube personality Spencer Carmichael-Brown, the club original ...

Club Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Company ...

* Team Dempsey * Nati SC * ZALA FFF * Far East United * US Women * Conrad & Beasley United * Gracie FC * Wrexham Red Dragons * Newtown Pride FC (2023 champions) *

Virginia Dream FC Virginia Dream FC is an American soccer club. It currently competes in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of the National Premier Soccer League, considered the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The team's home field is Meridian Hig ...

( NPSL team) * Wolves F.C. *

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

* Villita FC * Raleigh Rebels FC * Say Word FC * Dallas United * Culture by Mo Ali FC *

Charlotte FC Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise ...

* SLC FC * Hoosier Army ( IU Alumni) * Jackson TN Boom * Kingdom FC * Blade & Grass FC * DMV Diplomats * Duke Sevens ( Duke Alumni) * Sneaky Fox FC *

West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, h ...

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל תל אביב , ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Tel Aviv)'' is an Israeli football club based in Tel Aviv that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club's traditional hom ...

Como 1907 Como 1907, commonly referred to as Como, is an Italian football club based in Como, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, following promotion from the 2020–21 Serie C season. The club was fo ...

Winners

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 The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...

said by a Dallas player. After an investigation, TST and Dallas mutually agreed in Dallas United's withdrawal from the tournament.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soccer Tournament, The The Basketball Tournament Seven-a-side football competitions Soccer competitions in the United States 2023 establishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 2023