The Soccer Tournament 2025: TST schedule, prize money, rules, teams for $1 million summer event

Every year on the east coast of the United States, a $1 million phenomenon convenes to crown a single winner on the men’s and women’s side to take home a prize quickly rising in notoriety amongst the soccer community.

Now in its third year of competition, The Soccer Tournament is in action from North Carolina to crown two teams who will take home a coveted financial prize.

With the tournament full of international stars, global football icons, and even celebrities, TST is fast becoming a popular yearly event.

The Sporting News details who is taking part, how it works, and when the biggest matches will be held.

MORE: What is TST? A full explainer of how The Soccer Tournament works

What is The Soccer Tournament and when will it be held?

The third annual TST competition will be held on the first weekend of June 2025, just as it has been the last two years. The first matches took place on Wednesday, June 4, while the championship will take place on Monday, June 9.

The competition will be held in Cary, North Carolina at the WakeMed Soccer Park. The venue is well-known in the U.S. soccer community, regularly hosting NCAA College Cup tournaments.

WakeMed Soccer Park is also the home of NWSL side North Carolina Courage, and has been an occasional venue for U.S. national team matches for the men, most recently in 2018, and the women, last in 2017.

What is the prize money for TST?

The initial allure of The Basketball Tournament was the $500,000 cash prize at the end of the tournament meant to help entice quality players to participate and give the competition some stakes.

Since its debut in 2014, TBT now pays out a $1 million cash prize, although for a few years the prize amount was $2 million.

The Soccer Tournament will begin with the same concept, as there is a $1 million cash prize for the winner of the tournament, paid out entirely to the champions, while all other participants go home empty-handed.

In 2024, the competition added a women’s bracket that also features a $1 million cash prize for the winner. Both prizes return for the 2025 season, and will be expected to continue through the life of the tournament.

How to watch TST 2025

For the 2025 competition, all matches up through the quarterfinals at The Soccer Tournament will be broadcast on the TST YouTube page.

For the semifinals and finals, all matches will be broadcast on ESPN+, including the $1 million matches on both the men’s and women’s brackets.

TST format and rules

The 32-team, World Cup-style tournament will feature a 7-on-7 format, with six outfield players plus a goalkeeper on the field for each team at any given time. Rosters will feature between 10-18 players for each team, as per the official tournament rules.

Basics

Unlimited substitutions can be made at any point during the game.

There is also no offside rule, which is similar to many 7-on-7 rec leagues across the country.

Games consist of two 20-minute halves, with a modified version of basketball’s Elam Ending tacked on at the end of every single match, regardless of score (explained later).

Format

The format will be similar to that of the current FIFA World Cup, with the 32 teams drawn into a group stage featuring eight groups of four.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the 16-team knockout stage, which will contest a single elimination knockout bracket to determine the winner.

Tiebreakers

The chief tiebreaker for group stage play is head-to-head record, with goal differential the next decider.

Target Score Time

TST’s most notable rule quirk is the scoring method at the end of every single match. There is an untimed extra period — no clock is running — played after the 40 minutes of regulation, and to win the game one of the teams must reach a target score, which is set at one goal more than the total scored by the highest scoring team at the end of the match.

For example, if the score is 3-1 at the end of the 40 minutes of regulation, one of the teams must get to 4 goals to win the game. The untimed extra period will go as long as necessary until a team reaches that total.

However, should 10 minutes pass in the untimed period without a winner decided, one player will be removed from each team to create a more open game, and an additional player will be removed from each side every five minutes therein until the target goal total is reached.

This concept was adopted to ensure that all games end on a goal. The “Elam Ending” was made popular by TBT to eliminate time-wasting in basketball and encourage exciting finishes to a game. It was first met with skepticism from the basketball community, but has proven a resounding success, with many even hoping it eventually makes its way to the NBA and NCAA levels (The NBA has used it in its All-Star Game, but never more than just the exhibition).

What teams are playing in TST 2025?

The 7v7 tournament will consist of 32 teams, set to compete in a World Cup style, winner-take-all bracket.

The bracket has already been set, with some of the notable teams taking part listed below.

Concafa SC

Former NFL punter and current media personality Pat McAfee has been swept up in the TST mania, creating his own team to participate in the tournament and posting regular training updates on his social media accounts. His show is being broadcast from a set live at TST throughout the tournament, and the team includes former USMNT standouts Brek Shea and Geoff Cameron, plus notable former professionals Zat Knight, Justin Meram, and Mike Grella.

Nani FC

Retired Man United and Orlando City star Nani has created his own team. While last year’s marquee signing Mario Balotelli did not return, those who are featured include former Portugal internationals Bruno Alves and Andre Almeida.

Wrexham AFC

Owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, non-league side Wrexham AFC has gained significant popularity in the United States following the club’s feature series on Netflix, “Welcome to Wrexham.” The club has participated in all editions of the competition, and has a women’s side as well. The men’s team includes  recognizable names like Marc Albrighton and James Chester.

Kwik Goal FC

Two former men’s national team players, Jimmy Conrad and DaMarcus Beasley, who were teammates at the 2006 World Cup, created their own team for the inaugural 2023 tournament and have kept it alive in the form of Kwik Goal FC. Italian international Sebastian Giovinco leads the roster, which also includes Dwayne De Rosario and TST 2023 winner Paulo Nascimento.

U.S. Women

The United States women’s national team will send a group of former players to participate in the competition, including Heather O’Reilly and Lori Lindsey. O’Reilly will be familiar with the setting in Cary, N.C. as a former North Carolina Courage player during her time in the NWSL. Mia Hamm will serve as coach for the team throughout the tournament, with help from Heather Mitts, while Michelle Akers is GM.

Newtown Pride FC

The winners of TST 2023 reached all the way to the semifinals of 2024 before they were finally beaten for the first time. They are back for another go, although the roster is quite different from the past. No longer is 2023 hero Kelvin Nunes a part of the squad, but the team still features a northeastern flair.

Atletico Madrid

The La Liga giants are well known across the globe, and they bring a number of former players to TST 2025, headlined by former captain Diego Godin who only just retired from his professional career last year. He is joined by former Brazil international Miranda plus a number of veterans from Gerard Pique’s Kings League.

Club America

One of the biggest clubs in Mexico’s Liga MX has entered a team in the 2025 TST competition. The roster is headlined by former La Liga and Serie A veteran Miguel Layun, with a number of former Club America players on the list as well.

Villarreal

The La Liga side has entered a team in TST, with the roster headlined by former Villarreal and Italian national team Giuseppe Rossi, who famously rejected the U.S. national team to play for Italy.

West Ham United

The Premier League club brings a roster full of former Hammers to TST 2025, including James Collins, Anton Ferdinand, and Ricardo Vaz Te.

Who has won TST in the past?

Men’s tournament

Women’s tournament

2025 TST schedule

The winner of the men’s and women’s competitions will each take home a $1 million cash prize, with all other teams going home with nothing.

The men’s group stage will take place from June 4-5, while the knockout stage takes place June 6-8 and the finals being on June 9. On the women’s side, group stage games are in play from June 5-6, with the knockout stage contested on June 7-8 and the final on June 9.