Jun 1, 2023 - News

What to know as The Soccer Tournament kicks off in Cary

Zachery Eanes

Former U.S. soccer star Clint Dempsey is one of the backers of The Soccer Tournament. Photo: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

The Soccer Tournament, a seven-on-seven soccer tournament in which 32 star-filled teams compete for $1 million, kicks off today at Cary's Wake Med Soccer Park.

Driving the news: The tournament — which will feature soccer icons like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Heather O'Reilly — will run for the next four days, with the championship taking place on Sunday.

The tournament is winner-takes-all, meaning second place gets $0.

Why it matters: The Triangle has long been a hotbed for the sport, but the tournament will be one of the region's highest profile soccer events yet.

Notable teams traveling to North Carolina include:

Players from Wrexham AFC, the Welsh team owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney;
U.S. Women's team coached by Mia Hamm;
Team Dempsey, coached by Clint Dempsey and featuring former U.S. soccer players Jermaine Jones, Eddit Johnson and Chris Wondolowski;
A Borussia Dortmund-affiliated team featuring influencer Noah Beck;
And a team of former West Ham United players.

View the full list of participating teams here.

How to watch: Single-day tickets start at $35.

If you can't make it to Cary, the tournament is streaming on Peacock.

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What to know as The Soccer Tournament kicks off in Cary

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