Four hours of soccer. One million dollars at stake.
That’s the selling point from The Soccer Tournament organizers for a new women’s-only event, their latest endeavor that launches in June 2024. The stakes are the highest in the world for women’s soccer, they say, based on workload and prize money.
Spain players won $270,000 USD each ($6.21 million earmarked for players specifically) for winning the 2023 World Cup, but that’s a month-long tournament played by the elite, the 1% of 1%. TST is open to anyone willing to pay the entry fee — $40,000 for first-time entrants and $30,000 for returning teams — and the women’s field will be capped at eight teams. Oh, and it’s winner-takes-all.
“Where we compare really favorably is the World Cup payout is massive,” Jon Mugar, founder and CEO of The Tournament, tells The Equalizer. “But what’s the amount? What’s the accessibility of a World Cup spot? And moreover, what amount of time must you train and compete in order to put yourself in a position to win that? In who else’s hands is your potential to win that money? So, it’s just a much cleaner, quicker, more efficient road. When you boil it down to four hours it really spells out just kind of how massive this opportunity is.”
