Manchester City and Manchester United have been confirmed among the eight teams to play in the first-ever World Sevens adding intrigue to the tournament played in Estoril.
The two Women’s Super League sides will compete against teams from six other countries in a three-day, seven-a-side competiton to played just a few days before the UEFA Women’s Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Arsenal in nearby Lisbon.
Manchester United were one of four teams to be announced as taking part last month alongside AFC Ajax of the Netherlands, FC Bayern of Germany and SL Benfica from hosts Portugal. Today, Manchester City were confirmed among the remaining four teams alongside AS Roma of Italy, Paris Saint-Germain of France and FC Rosengard of Sweden.
City’s Director of Football Therese Sjögran said “the tournament is an exciting new competition for the women’s game, and, as a club that continually looks to blaze the trail, we are proud to be part of this milestone moment from the beginning. We look forward to bringing our players to Portugal.”
Manchester City’s season effectively ended on Sunday when they threw away a two-goal lead away to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. The two local rivals had been going toe-to-toe all season with United knocking City out of the Women’s FA Cup in April and now – after last weekend’s result – pipping City to the final Champions League qualifying spot at the top of the league.
Manchester United meanwhile have all to play for. Should they defeat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday they will finish ahead of them in the league and save themselves playing an extra round of qualification for the Champions League. Then, they will attempt to retain the Women’s FA Cup at Wembley Stadium against league champions Chelsea just three days before the World Sevens begins.
Despite fears about player burn-out at the end of the domestic season and ahead a summer of international matches, Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner insisted that “the players really wanted to do it. They’re excited to play a different format” adding that anyone who chose to the tournament out would still be eligible for any prize money the team won.
The World Sevens tournament was launched in March as “a revolutionary grand slam series with a game-changing prize pool for professional women’s footballers”. The tournament’s organizers have promised that $5 million will be on offer to the competing teams, with half of that total awarded to the winning team, rivalling the prize-pool for the more established UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The organisers have been guided by a Player Advisory Council featuring prestigious former players such as United States Women’s National Team Legends, Tobin Heath and Kelley O’Hara as well as England’s Anita Asante, France’s Laura Georges and Sweden’s Caroline Seger.
Unlike the eleven-a-side game, the World Sevens will feature games of 30 minutes on a half-size pitch. Matches will be split into two halves of 15 minutes with a five-minute interval. Extra time will be played to break any ties in the scoreline.
The eight teams will be split into two groups of four and play each other in a round-robin format over the first two days of the tournament. The top two in each group will then progress to play in semi-finals, a third-place match and a final on the third day. Each team is guaranteed to play in three matches with the four finalists playing five games.
The organisers expect the next tournament to take place outside of Europe before the end of 2025 and future editions to feature more teams. For the moment, the ‘World’ element of this sevens tournament remains in the name only as all eight teams represent the rich western leagues of Europe.
Nevertheless, Adrian Jacobs, the head of World Sevens suggested “with these final four teams, we’ve assembled a line-up that reflects some of the very best of women’s football clubs renowned for their ambition, skill, and global fanbases.”
“The W7F tournament will deliver a new kind of football: fast, fearless, and packed with world-class talent. Fans can expect every match to be a showcase of innovation and intensity. We can’t wait to see these teams light up Estoril and inspire the next generation of players and supporters.”
O’Hara added that “it is so exciting to finally announce the final four teams joining our inaugural World Sevens Football tournament, kicking off in just a few short weeks. These top-tier clubs are setting the tone for what’s to come, and I can’t wait to see their players take the pitch for what promises to be really super-charged and competitive football. Having them on board is a huge statement, and the best part is we’re just getting started!”
