After a smashing success in its first year, The Soccer Tournament is back for a second edition with a star-studded roster of teams and players.
For the 2024 edition of the winner-take-all tournament known as TST, a women's bracket will be added to the already bulging men's competition. Both brackets feature a $1 million cash prize for the winning team, while the rest of the sides go home with nothing.
The competition boasts a 7-on-7 competitive makeup, with some rule quirks as well. The most notable rulebook alteration is a change to the end of matches known as "target score time" which ensures every game ends with a goal. It has garnered the competition significant attention and drawn the eyes of famous former players and other athletes from around the world.
The Sporting News runs down all the most notable individuals taking part in this year's competition and what teams they will play for.
MORE: The full match schedule for TST 2024 with fixtures, results, and highlights
How to watch TST 2024 on TV and streaming
- Dates: Wednesday, June 5 — Monday, June 10
- Times: 8:30 a.m. ET — 10 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ESPNU
- Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+
ESPN acquired the television and streaming rights for the second year of The Soccer Tournament in Cary, N.C. While not all games will be broadcast, select group-stage matches will be chosen for either streaming on ESPN+ or TV on ESPNU.
Matches chosen for television broadcast on ESPNU can also be found on ESPN+ or streaming on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users.
The television and streaming schedule for the knockout round has not been announced yet, and The Sporting News will update this section once that has been finalized.
Players and teams in TST 2024
There are a slew of recognizable names taking part in 2024's edition of The Soccer Tournament.
Most notably, Argentine legend Sergio Aguero has created a team of his own and will participate in the competition. Other famous former players in the field include Mario Balotelli (Nani FC), Italian international and former Toronto FC playmaker Sebastian Giovinco (Kwik Goal) and American-born Italian international Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal). Also taking part is Cruz Beckham (Saturdays Football), son of legendary England international and current Inter Miami owner David Beckham.
Additionally, there are a few former NFL athletes involved, including Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson (Nati FC), who played in last year's tournament, and J.J. Watt (Burnley FC), who is a part-owner of Premier League side Burnley. Also among the group is former punter and current media personality Pat McAfee (CONCAFA SC) who created his own team for this year's competition.
Men's Tournament
Name | Hometown/Connection | Prior TST apps | Notable players |
Aguero Team | N/A | 0 (first app) | Sergio Aguero |
Wrexham Red Dragons | Wrexham, Wales | 1 | Mark Howard, Maynor Figueroa, George Boyd |
Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund, Germany | 1 | Evanilson, Kevin Grosskreutz, Marco Amoroso, Moritz Leitner, Roman Weidenfeller |
FC Bayern | Bayern Munich | 0 (first app) | None |
Inter | Inter Milan | 0 (first app) | Borja Valero, Giorgios Karagounis, Marco Materazzi |
Como-Cagliari | Italy | 1 | None |
Nani FC | N/A | 0 (first app) | Nani, Mario Balotelli, Dom Dwyer, Bruno Alves |
Newtown Pride | Newtown, Ct. | 1 | Gabriel Costa, Kelvin Nunes |
Zala FFF | N/A | 1 | Graham Zusi, AJ DeLaGarza, Victor Ulloa, CJ Sapong, Lee Nguyen, Justin Meram |
Nati SC | Cincinnati, OH | 1 | Chad Johnson |
Saturdays Football | Los Angeles, Calif. | 0 (first app) | Cruz Beckham |
Kwik Goal FC | N/A | 0 (first app) | Jimmy Conrad, DaMarcus Beasley, Dwayne De Rosario, Sebastian Giovinco |
Hoosier Army | Indiana University | 1 | Grant Lillard, Brad Ring |
The CONCAFA SC | N/A | 0 (first app) | Pat McAfee |
Burnley FC | Burnley, UK | 0 (first app) | J.J. Watt |
Sire 7 | N/A | 1 | Danny Simpson, Stephen Ireland, Tom Huddlestone, Troy Deeney |
Trident FC | N/A | 0 (first app) | Cody Cropper, Thomas Rongen (coach) |
Gracie FC | Brazil | 1 | Harrison Afful |
Tranqui10 FC | Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) | 0 (first app) | Mo Edu (ambassador) |
Summer of Soccer | UNC | 0 (first app) | Bryan Jordan |
Villarreal | Villarreal, Spain | 0 (first app) | Giuseppe Rossi, Hector Font, Cesar Arzo |
Au Vodka Swans | Wales, UK | 0 (first app) | Lee Trundle |
The Town FC | N/A | 0 (first app) | Kekuta Manneh |
Tenfifteen FC | Dallas, Texas | 0 (first app) | Jean-Marc Alexandre |
Reggae Rovers | Carribbean Sea | 0 (first app) | None |
Dueling For Lincoln | St. Louis, Mo. | 0 (first app) | None |
Raleigh Rebels | Raleigh, N.C. | 1 | None |
Hashtag United | Essex, England | 1 | None |
Kingdom FC | N/A | 1 | None |
Socceroof | New York City/Montreal | 0 (first app) | None |
Supra United FC | Dallas, Texas | 0 (first app) | None |
Banheiristas FC | Brazil | 0 (first app) | None |
Toronto Athletic FC | Toronto, Ontario | 1 | None |
City Soccer Society | N/A | 0 (first app) | None |
La Mexicana Express | New York City | 0 (first app) | None |
La Bombonera | New Castle, DE | 0 (first app) | None |
Freedom United SC | U.S. Air Force Academy | 1 | None |
Say Word FC | HBCU | 1 | None |
Manhattan Kickers | New York City | 0 (first app) | None |
FC Roha Eagles | Switzerland | 0 (first app) | None |
Tobacco Road FC | UNC and Duke | 0 (first app) | None |
Hoya Nation | Georgetown | 0 (first app) | None |
Pasha Luxury | N/A | 0 (first app) | None |
Desimpedidos | Brazil | 0 (first app) | None |
FitBodega Vancouver | Vancouver, B.C. | 0 (first app) | None |
DC Hyper | Brazil | 0 (first app) | None |
Women's Teams
On the women's side, a team of former USWNT players and their friends, including Heather O'Reilly and Ali Krieger, will headline the field. Wrexham is sending a team, and Burnley will also take part with a roster that includes J.J. Watt's wife, Kealia Watt, who played professionally for seven years in the NWSL.
Also involved is former Brazil international Formiga who will play for a side known as Tampa Bay Sun.
Name | Hometown/Connection | Prior TST apps | Notable players |
U.S. Women | USWNT | 1 | Heather O'Reilly, Ali Krieger, Ali Long, Lori Lindsey |
Wrexham Red Dragons | Wrexham,Wales | 0 (first app) | Carly Telford, Lindsey Agnew |
SoccerHead FC | Duke University | 0 (first app) | Brittany Isenhour, Chelsee Washington, Cheyenne Shorts |
NC Courage | Cary, N.C. | 0 (first app) | Jessica McDonald, Gi DeMarco |
Streetball FC | Vancouver, B.C. | 0 (first app) | None |
Tampa Bay Sun FC | Tampa, Fla. | 0 (first app) | Christina Unkel (GM), Formiga, Veronica Perez, Ashley Nick |
Burnley FC Women | Burnley, England | 0 (first app) | Kealia Watt |
Angel City FC | Los Angeles, Calif. | 0 (first app) | Jessica Miclat, Sydney Cummings |
Who won TST 2023?
In 2023, 32 teams competed in the inaugural TST competition, with the winner taking home the entire $1 million purse.
The tournament was a thrilling affair, with Newtown Pride FC emerging victorious. They won the championship game with a low-scoring 2-0 victory, which was different from most of the high-scoring competition.
Newtown Pride FC is made up of current semi-professional players from the club with the same name, which competes in the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).