Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been chosen to host the next edition of World Sevens Football from 5-7 December this year, after the new, lucrative women’s football competition’s debut “grand slam” event in Portugal in May. The seven-a-side competition was launched earlier this year, with financial backing from co-founder and investor Jennifer Mackesy, a minority owner of the NWSL club Gotham FC, offering a $5m prize pool per tournament – one of the largest prize funds in global women’s sport. Beyond Bancard Field on the campus of Nova Southeastern University, and the home stadium of the USL Super League’s Fort Lauderdale United FC, will host the event.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been chosen to host the next edition of World Sevens Football from 5-7 December this year, after the new, lucrative women’s football competition’s debut “grand slam” event in Portugal in May.
The seven-a-side competition was launched earlier this year, with financial backing from co-founder and investor Jennifer Mackesy, a minority owner of the NWSL club Gotham FC, offering a $5m prize pool per tournament – one of the largest prize funds in global women’s sport. Beyond Bancard Field on the campus of Nova Southeastern University, and the home stadium of the USL Super League’s Fort Lauderdale United FC, will host the event.
The inaugural eight-team tournament held in Portugal was won by Bayern Munich, who took home the winning prize of $2.5m after beating Manchester United in the final in Estoril. The clubs involved in December’s event are yet to be confirmed, but the Guardian understands that all eight participating teams are likely to be from across the Americas, with teams from Brazil, Mexico and the United States (including NWSL teams) among those in talks to take part.
Related: Smoke cannons, rolling subs and goals aplenty: welcome to World Sevens football
The matches are played using a half-size pitch and seven-a-side goals, with rolling substitutions permitted and 15-minute halves, accompanied by background music throughout. However, what makes the competition particularly different to other small-sided football events that have grown in popularity in recent years is that it involves current, elite players from existing professional clubs, rather than retired players or celebrities. The World Cup-winning former United States winger Tobin Heath is the chair of the World Sevens Football’s player advisory council, a group of former international stars who have been influential to the event’s format, structure and player facilities.
Ajax from the Netherlands, the Portuguese club Benfica, the French giants Paris Saint-Germain, AS Roma of Italy, FC Rosengård of Sweden and the English WSL side Manchester City joined Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the inaugural event, which occurred during the run-up to this year’s Women’s Champions League, and was staged nearby in Lisbon from a Wednesday until a Friday. December’s event in Florida will take place across a weekend, starting with group games on Friday 5 December and concluding with a final two days later. It will come two weeks after the 2025 NWSL Championship final.
Category: General Sports
