The inaugural matches will run from May 21-23 in Estoril, Portugal, finishing one day before the Women’s Champions League final in Lisbon and a couple of months before the 2025 European Championship begins in Switzerland.
However, it’s not simply a weekend away to play some (very lucrative) small-sided football. At its heart, W7F is about the opportunity for players and clubs to amplify their brands, reach a younger audience and promote further investment into women’s football.
On Wednesday, the organisation announced that long-serving Chelsea executive manager, Adrian Jacob, will become its head of football. Jacob has been with Chelsea through seven of its WSL titles. The move is a show of commitment to football in a tournament that also looks to capitalise on flair.
Former U.S. midfielder and Bay FC co-founder Aly Wagner is in charge of strategy for W7F and former U.S. midfielder Tobin Heath will lead the player advisory council. Wagner views the competition as a “solution”, one confronting the existential question: is the sport maximizing its potential?
Here’s what we know…
What is the goal of the W7F?
Action in front of goal is one of the biggest drivers of excitement for football fans, Wagner says.
“We got a really good sense of what the game is missing, or what we can provide with this platform,” Wagner tells .
Matches will consist of two 15-minute halves played on a field half the size of a full pitch. The short-form nature of the series and the intensity of the action around the 18-yard box, Wagner says, presents better opportunities for viral content and, therefore, marketing opportunities. Plans to host tournaments around the globe are aimed at increasing recognition.
“It’s also about how we help connect players to the global fanbase, so we’re going to be doing some unique things on how we capture content in real-time, how we engage a broader fanbase, not just on-site,” she says. “Our athletes and our players are influencers and giving them that opportunity is again top of mind and a priority for us.
“It’s content that can reach a broader demographic, younger demographic.”
At its core, W7F is about having fun and creating content.
“Let’s continue to grow the market in women’s football,” Wagner says. “We all know clubs and players want to drive more revenue into this space, so everyone benefits from this incredible prize pool but also the opportunity to grow their own brands.”
Amid questions of a congested women’s football calendar, Wagner is adamant that W7F should not be viewed as a disruptive force within women’s football’s current ecosystem but a complementary one.
“This is 100 percent additive to the current football ecosystem,” she says. “This is the platform that allows these clubs to grow their brands. They don’t have to build the tournament. They just have to show up and bring their best. The players just have to show up and bring their best. This is the stage set for them to work with the current ecosystem that we have within women’s football.”
Was W7F inspired by the recent success of Unrivaled?
Unrivaled, a women’s three-v-three basketball league that has raised over $34million (£26.3m) since its announcement last year, has showcased the value of high-intensity, small-sided versions of the sport. It has found a way to break through a heavily saturated market and engage wider audiences.
Unrivaled started play this year with a multi-year media rights agreement with Warner Bros, airing on TNT Sports and TruTV and streaming on Max in the U.S.
Salaries, standards and marketing opportunities have risen for participating players. Positive reaction to the league’s inaugural season has also led to major players entering the space as sponsors and investors, from Sephora, Sprite, Wayfair, Wilson and Opill to sports stars such as Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry, former USWNT forward Megan Rapinoe, tennis prodigy Coco Gauff and South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley.
Wagner says the concept of W7F was in the kiln well before Unrivaled’s arrival, but important lessons have been gleaned, such as the league’s online marketing and engagement strategy.
“What we love about our platform is that it’s allowing clubs and players to grow their brands,” says Wagner. “In our platform, we are putting clubs and players front and centre. That’s how we’re working across the key stakeholders, to really grow that investment in the game. That’s where our model is different.”
W7F will stream on the global sports service DAZN. The platform will also play a role in marketing the tournament.
W7F also follows the introduction of The Soccer Tournament (TST), a seven-a-side tournament launched in the United States in 2022 featuring 32 teams competing for $1million. ESPN secured the broadcasting rights to TST in 2024. The competition is mostly comprised of former and youth players as well as a smattering of celebrities. Former U.S. internationals Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo are joining TST this summer.
An adapted small-sided football tournament is not, on its own, earth-shattering. Former Spain centre-back Gerard Pique founded men’s and women’s seven-a-side leagues in Spain (branded Kings League and Queens League) in 2023. Club presidents are often popular female streamers, athletes, or influencers, with matches streamed on Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. In the UK, the six-a-side Baller League — introduced in Germany — recently launched as an influencer-led league, headlined by KSI and including former Premier League players, futsal players and celebrities in a 12-team league.
A fantastic solo effort and the celebration to match it! @_pkhumble scores the first goal of @BallerLeagueUK for Yanited, managed by @angryginge13 🕺 pic.twitter.com/DLOq272pH5
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 24, 2025
W7F’s distinction and allure, Wagner argues, is that it does not rely on the cachet of influencers and former stars, nor feature newly-created clubs. Instead, competition is held between established clubs and their most exciting players from various parts of the world. Teams from the WSL and NWSL, for example, do not regularly compete against each other, which means fans are often denied the opportunity to watch top-quality matchups.
“You’re going to see unique clubs competing against each other who have never historically competed against each other,” Wagner said. “That’s part of the value proposition to our players, to our clubs, but also to our fans.”
Who is funding W7F?
There are two main investors. Gotham FC minority owner Jennifer Mackesy and her husband, Scott, are bankrolling the competition. Jennifer Macksey is also part of the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital group that owns Chelsea. The Mackesys have confirmed $100million of investment over five years.
For Wagner, the investment represents a starting point.
“We’re in an incredible moment for women’s football and this is the beginning of the growth phase,” she says. “What we intend to do with Sevens is accelerate that growth. This is an innovative platform that will really resonate with Gen Z and millennials.
“We have incredible technology at our disposal and incredible footballers that just need another stage to showcase their talents.”
Will more games impact player welfare?
A FIFPro report published in December 2024 found a discrepancy regarding the number of games played by an elite cadre of players compared to others. While some players, such as Spain and Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey, could play up to 64 games in a calendar year, the average player played just 33. Others played less than 10.
The women’s football calendar has been criticised for its precarious, congested nature for those at the top end of the game.
W7F says it is “actively engaging” with player unions, FIFPro and players themselves “to make great decisions on how we set this up for success for the players.”
Further, the maximum number of minutes a player would play across the three-day tournament is 150 minutes (30 minutes over five games). Squads will have unlimited rolling substitutions.
W7F has assembled an “advisory council” composed of ex-professionals, led by former USWNT midfielder Heath and including former England defender Anita Asante and former France defender Laura Georges, to help guide decisions around player welfare.
“We’re prioritising the players’ interests and needs in every single decision because they’re at the centre of everything we do,” says Asante.
According to Asante and Georges, one of the pulls of W7F is the “intimacy” between fans and players. In Portugal, supporters are set to be up close and personal with the action occurring on the pitches in an almost “festival” style.
Concerns over player welfare as the profile of the women’s game grows have steadily risen over the past two years, with several WSL clubs no longer allowing players to walk over to fans in the stands and sign autographs for safety purposes.
Asked whether W7F will maintain player safety while promising greater connection with fans, Asante emphasised that players remain “at the centre of every single consultation” and that players are “expecting” a more intimate environment.
What is left to be determined?
Despite the series’ inaugural start date of 21 May approaching quickly, W7F has yet to announce participating teams, or precisely how the $5million prize pot will be split, beyond the winning club taking home $2.5million.
“We’re going to be working with clubs on how we allocate it all,” Wagner says. “Part of this is about continuing to drive reinvestment in the women’s game by the clubs, that’s the beauty.
“I know this firsthand from Bay FC. Getting more capital into these clubs will help continue to grow the fanbase, but also improve the conditions and the resources that these athletes have at their disposal.”
According to Georges, also a member of UEFA’s women’s football board, while the tournament will feature top clubs in its first edition, this is mostly to whet the palette before expanding the opportunity to other clubs “who are willing to compete”.
“We will be able to showcase their best talents,” she says. “This is the goal to not only broadcast those who are already performing but also to bring those who we don’t see, from Africa, South America. This tournament is going to showcase the different types of football.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Soccer, NWSL, Sports Business, UK Women's Football
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