World Sevens Football: Utd, City and Bayern feature in radical new tournament

In an age when new tournaments seem to spring up regularly, none have promised as dramatic a shake-up as World Sevens Football.

Eight elite women's sides from across Europe will head to the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota in Estoril, Portugal, for the inaugural event between May 21 and May 23.

W7F will deploy "an electrifying seven-a-side format that promises fast, high-scoring matches", according to organisers.

Manchester United – FA Cup runners-up on Sunday – are one of the teams involved, and head coach Marc Skinner is excited to experience a wildly different form of football.

"It's tactically going to be crazy, which I think is what we want. We want carnage," Skinner said. "It will make everyone laugh and it is entertaining. 

"We listened to our players on this. If they didn't want to go, we genuinely wouldn't put our name in it."

With a series of household names involved and a prize pool larger than that offered by the Women's Champions League, this is no regular end-of-season kickabout.

The format

Each match will last 30 minutes and be played on a half-size pitch, with unlimited, rolling substitutions permitted and – in another huge deviation from the norm – no offsides.

In the event of a draw, five minutes of added time will be played, with each team reduced to five players and the Golden Goal rule in effect.

Sudden-death penalty shoot-outs will be used if required after that, so drama is surely in store.

The competitors

Eight teams have been split into two pools of four, with the group stage taking place across the first two days and the knockout stages being hosted on Friday.

Ajax, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Rosengard will make up Group A, with Benfica, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma in Group B. 

The top two sides from each group will advance to the knockouts, with tournament organisers expecting to welcome more teams – including clubs from the NWSL – in the future.

A number of big-name players will be present, with United's strong travelling squad including England internationals Ella Toone, Grace Clinton and Maya Le Tissier.

Rivals Man City, however, will be without Vivianne Miedema, Khadija Shaw, Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp, among other star players, having selected a more experimental squad in the wake of their fourth-placed Women's Super League finish.

Frauen-Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have said they will travel to Portugal with their "whole team", though director of women's football Bianca Rech said some players' minutes will be managed.

Euro 2025 will have an impact, as many players expected to feature for their countries in Switzerland may skip the competition. 

England boss Sarina Wiegman had mixed thoughts on the event when it was first announced, saying: "I would say if there are meaningful minutes to get prepared for the Euros, then in this short term, for some it would not be too bad. 

"But in the longer term, I don't see how we can fit that in the schedule in the calendar."

The prize money

The tournament has attracted interest due to its $5million (€4.4m/£3.7m) total prize pot, with $2.5m (€2.2m/£1.85m) going to the victors – more than the $1.6m (€1.4m/£1.2m) handed out to the Champions League winners.

Tournament organisers have said a follow-up event will take place in North America during the second half of 2025, with eight new teams invited.