Top women’s clubs to play in lucrative seven-a-side tournament in buildup to WCL final

Eight of the world’s leading women’s clubs, including big-name sides from the US and Europe, will compete in a new, lucrative seven-a-side tournament in Portugal during the week leading up to this season’s Women’s Champions League final there, the Guardian can reveal. It will kick off a series of global “grand slam” events that is expected to run beyond this year.

The independently run competition, funded by private US-based investment, has a prize pot believed to extend to a significant seven-figure sum that may rival the money on offer for the Women’s Champions League finalists.

The eight teams involved are not confirmed but the Guardian understands at least two Women’s Super League teams could take part in the first competition, staged across three days in the buildup to the final, which takes place in Lisbon on 24 May. Angel City are believed to be one of two likely representatives from the US and Bayern Munich are among a contingent of elite European clubs keen on participating. A final roll call may not be decided until the Champions League finalists have been determined.

It is a pioneering development for a sport that has sought new ways to widen its audience and raise income. The tournament, with a number of experienced women’s football executives involved in its creation, will not take place under Uefa’s auspices even though it effectively occurs on the turf of its flagship event. Uefa and Fifa have been involved in dialogue with the organisers, who are understood not to regard themselves as competitors to traditional governing bodies.

The pair that face off at the Estádio José Alvalade on 24 May are highly unlikely to be among those contesting the seven-a-side event, in which teams will be expected to field their A-list stars. It is believed participants will prioritise the new tournament ahead of any domestic commitments that may clash.

International coaches may balk at the prospect of leading players taking on another commitment six weeks before Euro 2025. The competition will allow roll-on, roll-off substitutes, with teams bringing squads of 14, and the expectation is that few players would complete more than 90 minutes of competitive action over the three days.

Games will consist of two 15-minute halves; the teams will be split into round-robin groups of four, feeding into semi-finals and a final. A “players’ council” is understood to have been formed to ensure players have a strong say on the playing environment. A sequel to the Portugal launch event will be held later in 2025.

The rewards on offer may soften the blow for those who have missed out on continental glory. This season’s Champions League winners will win up to €1.4m (£1.2m), which will rise to up to €1.995m from next season. The seven-a-side venture will feature a multimillion-pound prize fund that, according to sources, will be split between clubs and players. It will be a significant figure relative to the sums typically on offer in the women’s game, where for example the winners of this season’s FA Cup final will receive £430,000.

Small-sided football has gained a following in recent years through initiatives such as the Kings League, established by the former Barcelona and Manchester United men’s player Gerard Piqué, but few such schemes have included active top-level professionals.

The prospect of top US teams going head-to-head with some of Europe’s elite clubs comes quickly off the back of Fifa’s announcement that its Women’s Champions Cup will begin in 2026, featuring the champions of each confederation’s club tournament, before the inaugural 16-team Women’s Club World Cup is staged in 2028. Owing to the fact the women’s game has never had an official, global women’s club competition, meetings between US and European giants are rare outside of friendlies.