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Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Times
World Sevens: DJs, ‘party deck' — and the millions to revolutionise game
Don't be fooled by the funky rules, loud music and late-season scheduling. Women's football's new seven-a-side tournament is not a cheap gimmick. Granted, a walk around the venue within the modest Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota in Estoril, Portugal, made last week's inaugural World Sevens Football (W7F) event feel frivolous. One of the three temporary stands is a plush players' lounge, from which participants watched their rivals on comfy sofas or plastic chairs. At the other end lies the comically named 'party deck', in which the atmosphere was sedate despite residing next to a tent serving alcohol. On one side of the ground, either side of a DJ playing in-game music, the VIPs were sitting grandly in cabanas. Meanwhile, the action on the pitch was often bizarre. Before each game, the teams lined up opposite each other as though they were about to break into rugby-style war dances, only to advance jovially and shake hands with one (weirdly, always only one) opponent. No offsides meant players popped up in random places. When Ajax's Lily Yohannes strode up to a penalty, the Jaws theme music started playing. Yet W7F's wacky elements signal its championing of fun, and the disdain for convention characterises its potential to transform. With its financial heft, truncated format and existence separate from traditional competitions, the impact on women's football could be seismic. This was no end-of-season jolly for the participating eight clubs, which included Manchester City and Manchester United. Fronted by Jennifer Mackesy, a Chelsea minority owner, US-based investors have committed $100million (about £75million) to a W7F series over the next five years. That is a huge sum, as is the $5million prize pot in Estoril. The first W7F winners, Bayern Munich, won $2.5million (about £1.86million), four times more than the £430,000 Chelsea got for winning the Women's FA Cup this month. Even Arsenal took their cumulative prize money to only £1.1million by winning the Champions League — and that was for a whole season's work, rather than three days. Players and staff received 40 per cent of the prize money, encouraging them to compete seriously. Nicola Keating, who was in Estoril watching her 20-year-old daughter Khiara play for City, hinted at the high stakes. 'It's a life-changing opportunity for whichever team wins,' she said. 'For men, this would probably be a drop in the ocean, but for women that could be how many months' wages? It's life-changing money.' Participants were reluctant to discuss the potential winnings but thinking about the payday would only be natural. 'As you get closer to the prize money and being the first winner, the jeopardy starts to come in and tactics start to change,' City's head coach, Nick Cushing, said. Manchester United's situation epitomises the money's power. Marc Skinner, their head coach, has stressed that his squad needs investment but Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the United co-owner, has cited the relative lack of turnover when explaining his limited focus on the women's team. Pocketing £740,000 in three days, as United did by finishing runners-up to Bayern, could fund Skinner's transfer plans and display the potential of women's football to Ratcliffe. Equally, the tournament is not a soulless pursuit of cash. The small pitch (half the size of an 11-a-side one), rolling substitutes, 15-minute halves and no offsides create attacking football compatible with Gen Z attention spans and enjoyed by players. 'It's a higher intensity, but more free,' Grace Clinton, the United midfielder, said. 'You can play, be skilful, link up, and it's very unpredictable. You just don't know what's going to happen, but it's more enjoyable [than 11-a-side].' There were 16 goals in 120 minutes on day one, and so great is the commitment to fun that Bayern Munich's Tuva Hansen had her yellow card rescinded after taking off her shirt in celebration. Yet amid so much money, fun and innovation, it may seem too good to be true. So what's the catch? The starting point is financial. Only 3,500 tickets were sold over the three days, and the broadcast deal with DAZN alone will not move Mackesy's group into the black. The tournament must enhance revenue streams. 'We would love to see cities around the world want to bring us into their communities and partner with them,' Mackesy said. Indeed, W7F needs to live up to its global identity. While all eight teams in Estoril are European, the second event at the end of this year will be held in the Americas. Justin Fishkin, Mackesy's co-founder, detailed plans for four 'regional' events before the fifth served as a world championship. Cracking the enormous women's football market of the United States, the expected location for the second event, is also crucial. Nonetheless, Mackesy and Fishkin were guarded over their business strategy, so W7F's road to sustainability remains uncertain. The fan experience could improve too, because the atmosphere at the 5,100-capacity stadium rarely turned lively before the Friday night final. Mackesy mooted using bigger stadiums, or springing up a venue in a large park. Organisers perhaps sacrificed hosting in a bigger women's football nation to be on the Champions League final's doorstep, but this move was symbolic. While there is a desire to co-operate with governing bodies such as Fifa and Uefa, W7F is disturbing women's football's status quo. Expansion beyond eight teams is envisaged and the women's football calendar is already packed. Fiskin emphasised working around the existing schedule but Tobin Heath, the former United States international who chairs the W7F advisory council, was more combative. 'The schedules are going to clear, just look at the prize pool we set,' she told the Full Time podcast. With the successes tangible and concerns mostly hypothetical, W7F's genesis in Portugal was pretty good. And when an event is this lucrative and eyebrow-raising, a qualified success is enough to ignite revolution.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tobin Heath Breaks Down The World Sevens Football Experience
Tobin Heath Breaks Down The World Sevens Football Experience | Full Time Podcast It has been billed as women's football 'reimagined,' but with the inaugural edition behind us, what really is World Sevens Football (W7F) offering to the sport's global ecosystem? This week on Full Time, hosts Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan are joined by USWNT legend Tobin Heath to discuss her role in developing the innovative seven-a-side tournament as chair of the player advisory council. Why was W7F such a breath of fresh air for players, and how can it disrupt the status quo? Then The Athletic's Charlotte Harpur, joins the podcast to give her perspective from covering the W7F on the media side and the concerns regarding its hand-picked competing teams. Plus, Charlotte gives her inside view on Tuesday's sudden news that Mary Earps has retired from international soccer. 42:03 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rabiot, Maignan & Cherki arrive at Clairefontaine before facing Spain
Tobin Heath Breaks Down The World Sevens Football Experience | Full Time Podcast It has been billed as women's football 'reimagined,' but with the inaugural edition behind us, what really is World Sevens Football (W7F) offering to the sport's global ecosystem? This week on Full Time, hosts Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan are joined by USWNT legend Tobin Heath to discuss her role in developing the innovative seven-a-side tournament as chair of the player advisory council. Why was W7F such a breath of fresh air for players, and how can it disrupt the status quo? Then The Athletic's Charlotte Harpur, joins the podcast to give her perspective from covering the W7F on the media side and the concerns regarding its hand-picked competing teams. Plus, Charlotte gives her inside view on Tuesday's sudden news that Mary Earps has retired from international soccer. 42:03 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
What is World Sevens Football?
World Sevens Football (W7F) is a new seven-a-side competition featuring eight clubs in a women's 'grand slam' inaugural tournament will be played in Estoril, Portugal, from 21-23 May 2025, finishing a day before the Women's Champions League 2025 edition features Ajax, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris St-Germain, Roma and Rosengard. What is the format? Each team will play between three and five matches, on grass pitches half the size of the usual 11-a-side pitch. Each match will be played over 30 minutes, in two 15-minute eight teams will be split into two groups, playing in a round-robin format over the first two City are in Group 1, alongside Ajax, Bayern Munich and Rosengard. Group 2 consists of Benfica, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and top two clubs in each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will be followed by a third-place match and the will have up to 14 players in their match squads, with unlimited rolling substitutions allowed. Who is funding the competition? The series is funded by US-based philanthropist Jennifer Mackesy, who has a minority stake in Chelsea Women and is co-owner of NWSL club Gotham are competing for a $5m (£3.76m) prize pot and are contractually bound to give a certain portion of their prize money to staff and players, though the actual amounts will be determined by the clubs players make up the competition's advisory council, including former England international Anita Asante, Swede Caroline Seger, and American two-time World Cup winner Kelley O'Hara. Why launch another tournament? According to Mackesy, the tournament is designed to "elevate the women's game" and provide players "with a powerful new platform to showcase their talent, grow their personal brands, and provide economic opportunity in a way that truly reflects their value".Asante, meanwhile, believes the W7F provides another opportunity for players "to shine"."It's football, but faster, bolder, and made for the future," she said. What does this mean for Euro 2025? W7F has promised "fast, high-scoring matches, global exposure, and game-changing financial opportunities for players and clubs".But some have voiced concern about the proximity of the tournament to Euro 2025, which starts just six weeks after World March, before the participating teams were announced, England manager Sarina Wiegman said she was worried about World Sevens fitting into the football calendar, calling it a "challenge".However, she also recognised that some players would get "meaningful minutes" to "be in the right shape for the Euros".Manchester United players Maya le Tissier and Elisabeth Terland told BBC Sport they would like to play in World Sevens, and have since been named in the 20-strong squad alongside the likes of Ella Toone, Leah Galton and Grace Clinton. Manager Marc Skinner said some of the prize money would be used to recruit new players."For our team, where we don't have Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City's budget, it's huge if we're going to be successful," he City have named a travelling squad of 15 for the tournament, including senior England players Jess Park, Laura Coombs and Laura Blindkilde Brown. Can I watch World Sevens? Global streaming service DAZN has the broadcast rights to the tournament. Clubs may also be able to stream the matches on their own websites. What's next for W7F? More clubs from around the world have agreed to be part of a 'club pool' from which teams will be chosen for future are being planned in cities across the United States, Mexico, Asia and Europe - and the aim is to have up to five tournaments every say they hope to expand the number of teams competing in each event in article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. What is Ask Me Anything? Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio. More questions answered... What is a mud ball?How does the BBC report on big stories about itself?Match of the Day - your questions answeredHow do WSL clubs make money?
Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Lionesses may have 11 players at seven-a-side event weeks before Euro 2025
England are likely to have more players at a lucrative seven-a-side tournament this month than any of their main rivals at Euro 2025. The final four of eight teams involved in the inaugural edition of the World Sevens Football (W7F) have been confirmed. Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Roma and Rosengard have joined the quartet announced two weeks ago: Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Ajax. The tournament, which runs from May 21 to May 23 in Portugal, has a prize pot of $5million (about £3.8million), and the winners will earn $2.5million. England are the only country represented by two clubs, and their national team could be the most affected by the competition, which falls six weeks before Euro 2025. City have crucial England players
