‘Professional athletes in their prime’ - World Sevens tournament reimagines 7v7 soccer with prime-time players, fast-paced format

The idea has been in the works for some time. Former USWNT midfielder Aly Wagner, who amassed 131 caps and won two Olympic Gold medals for her country, has been flirting with it as a concept since 2023. She saw the annual NWSL midseason break as an opportunity to both keep players fit and offer extra competition.

Buoyed by the knowledge that Pique’s Kings League - another small-sided tournament that integrated bizarre rules - was taking off, she believed that a midseason tournament for pros could not only be entertaining, but perhaps necessary.

“I had seen what was happening abroad with Pique’s event. And I just thought there was something really intriguing about the format,” Wagner said.

Some 18 months later, she was brought into something official. Mackesy, minority owner of NWSL’s Gotham FC and part of Chelsea’s ownership group, had teamed up with USWNT legends Kelley O’Hara and Tobin Heath - as well as a number of other stakeholders in the women’s soccer space - to bring this abstract idea to life.

“They pulled me in,” Wagner said, “and they were the ones who really had put it together - the founding group, the vision and what this format would look like, who would be participating. We pulled it together in around five months.”

The central thesis, Mackesy says, is that World Sevens will highlight the best of the best in women’s soccer, albeit in a unique format. Unlike TST or Kings League, where there is a range of ability on show, the World Sevens organizers are convinced that getting professionals in 7v7 matches in a packed stadium will bring about a new level of entertainment.

There are familiar touchpoints. This will be a glamorous event, debuting this week in Estoril, Portugal. There will be music blasting, and a luxurious player lounge where the founders hope teams will mingle in between fixtures. But while other small-sided tournaments can seem manufactured, in some cases obvious exercises in PR, World Sevens plans to take soccer more seriously.

“It’s still a football tournament, and you're able to see the best players possible playing football, and the product is football,” Adrian Jacob, head of football and former chairman of Chelsea women said. “So we've got all these amazing players and amazing clubs who are taking part.”

The goal is exciting, competitive soccer, a marriage of quality and entertainment.

“They are professional athletes in their prime,” Jacob said. “It's going to be great fun. But as soon as those guys cross the white line, they're not playing for, ‘This is great fun’ and they’re gonna mess around. They all want to win.”

The list reads wonderfully: Bayern Munich, Man Utd, Man City, Ajax, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Roma, FC Rosengard. Among them, the eight clubs have 32 domestic league titles. Players on their rosters have won World Cups, European Championships, Champions Leagues and Olympic gold medals. We are talking about some of the best in the women’s game.

Narrowing the list down to just eight clubs wasn’t easy, Jacob admitted. He leveraged his numerous connections in the women’s soccer world, and had countless conversations with stakeholders at various clubs.

There was no uniform criterion for picking any given team, he explained. But Jacob found that there was some level of intrigue with whoever he spoke.

“There was no club that said ‘We think this is a terrible idea’ which is great to hear,” he said. “There wasn't one club that said, ‘What the hell are you doing?’“

Some teams, in fact, viewed participation as a perfect opportunity - and one that had been needed for some time.

“There's one club that I can't name, who turned around and said, ‘We've been waiting for something as innovative as this,’” Jacob added.

The founders insist that a tournament as innovative as World Sevens is hyper-unique to the women’s game. While men’s soccer is well-established, with very little room to grow, the women’s side of the sport still has space.

Players, meanwhile, operate in different ways.

“Whether they like it or not, [women soccer players] have much more of a voice and have much more say on what's happening,” Jacob said. “It's not just a job for them. They're not just there to play football and go home. They're there to make things better for the next generation. They're there to move the goal post.”

Wagner, a co-owner of NWSL side Bay FC, has seen the impact that women’s soccer players can have on the game first hand - highlighted by the slew of changes professionals have brought about in the American game.

“Women in soccer, in particular, actually, really resonate with that younger demographic more than other actual U.S. professional brands or leagues,” she said.

And more broadly, the women’s game still has space to build. It’s clear, particularly in the American game, with the unique Collective Bargaining Agreements in the NWSL, and the USL Super League popping up to rival the top division.

“What women's football does is look at what men's football does,” Jacob said. “Instead of saying, ‘Right, let's copy it,’ they go ‘Actually, what is it that men's football can't do?’ Because we'll do that.”

The central question remains: what’s the link between condensed 7v7 soccer and the traditional format? These games, for all of the focus on professionalism, are still shaved-down versions of the familiar game, with a lot of the fat trimmed off.

DAZN, official broadcast partner for World Sevens, describes it effectively: “Designed for fast-paced action, it trims the game to its essentials.”

The games are 30 minutes long. There is no offsides. If a game ends in a draw, then golden goal extra time will decide things. If that doesn’t bring a conclusion, then it’s penalty kicks. This will be quick, loud, and made for a younger generation. Founders argue that there’s room for both seven-a-side and the more traditional game.

“As a player myself, when we would be training as players, our 11-a-side teams, we were playing these short format practices,” Mackesy said.

Furthermore, they believe that one can feed into the other.

“Hopefully they'll be able to showcase their skills in a different way than they otherwise would be able to on an 11-a-side pitch,” Jacob said, “which makes people want to watch them on the 11-a-side pitch.”

And given the fast-paced media world, in which social clips and virality reign, this could be an ideal window into the larger women’s game.

“If their first touch point is seeing a social media post or coming to World Sevens and seeing a player who they connect with, then they go on to follow their 11-a-side journey,” Mackesy added.

The immediate focus is making sure this all goes to plan this week. The tournament will last just three days - 16 matches plus an awards ceremony concluding in 72 hours of action. After that, there are plans for a North American edition, due to be held sometime later this year, although a venue and time frame are yet to be announced.

Founders hope that World Sevens can evolve into an event held four times per year around the world, a format beloved by players, perhaps even an Olympic sport.

For now, though, the onus is on innovation, borrowing from innovations such as those Paris Olympic beach volleyball matches, and finding a unique lane.

“We can do things differently,” Jacob said. “We don't have to follow the exact same pattern that has gone on for years and years.”