There will be a lot of exciting soccer this summer. With the Euros. Copa América, and the Olympics soccer, there are so many quality games on TV. That’s not all however, there is another tournament happening very soon.

In 2022, USMNT legend Clint Dempsey and NBA star Chris Paul were part of a group that announced their plans to bring a 7-on-7 soccer tournament to North Carolina for the summer of 2023— with a million-dollar prize on the line. 

The tournament, known simply as The Soccer Tournament, is being run by TBT Enterprises, the group that founded The Basketball Tournament roughly a decade ago. 

In their inaugural tournament last summer, they employed a format similar to the World Cup: 32 teams, eight groups of four teams, three group matches and a 16-team, single-elimination knockout phase. 

It took place over a four-day period in June 2023 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, and Dempsey also entered a team with the name “Team Dempsey.”

"I came from a pickup soccer culture, from a culture of taking people on," said Dempsey about why he decided to get involved in bringing this tournament into a reality.

"This is something that promotes that and hopefully opens the door for some people to take their game to the next level and chase their dreams.”

The tournament saw a lot of legendary players coming in to play, and represented their old clubs. Borussia Dortmund, West Ham, Wolves, Wrexham, Como, and Hapoel Tel Aviv were among the European clubs that sent in their teams, while former USWNT players also participated. The rest of the tournament were amateur teams who shilled out entry fees of $10,000 to $20,000.

Newtown Pride FC, an amateur team based out of Newtown High School in Sandy Hook, Connecticut ended up winning the tournament-- beating SLC FC in the final to take home a million-dollar prize.

It may be a bit surprising to see two amateur teams in the final instead of teams representing the top European clubs. However, when you look at the rosters, you can see that both teams had several players with indoor soccer and futsal experience, which helps a lot playing in a 7-on-7 tournament with small space.

Just like the World Cup has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams, this year’s The Soccer Tournament has also expanded to 48 teams for the men’s competition. Unlike last summer, the women will also have their own competition with the same $1 million prize tag, and will feature eight teams.

It will be once again held at the same location, and will be across five days from June 5th to 10th with ESPN set to show games on TV.

The entry fees have gone up too, with $30,000 for returning teams and $40,000 for new teams. The expensive prices and the expansion make sense considering how successful last summer’s tournament was.

Some of the famous players playing in this summer’s tournament include Cesc Fàbregas, Sergio Agüero, Nani, Mario Balotelli, former NFL stars JJ Watt and Chad Ochocinco, former NFL player and now internet personality Pat McAfee, and etc.

Dortmund will be sending their team again and so will Bayern Munich, the two German clubs will be in the same group. Other European clubs that will be sending teams are Inter Milan, Villarreal, Burnley, Wrexham, and the combination team of Como and Cagliari.

Last year’s champions Newtown Pride FC will return to defend their title, although SLC FC won’t be back.

Burnley and Wrexham will also send teams for the women’s side to compete with American women clubs such as Angel City, NC Courage, and Tampa Bay Sun FC. The USWNT legends are returning as well.

The summer of soccer is kicking off very soon. For people that enjoy a 7-on-7 street style soccer, it will be a great opportunity to watch this tournament on TV and also see some legends back on the pitch playing.

It will be interesting to see whether one of the big name teams will win or it will be like last year where an amateur team with futsal experience take home the $1 million prize.