BOSTON (May 31, 2023) -  The Soccer Tournament, the $1 million, winner-take-all, 7v7 world championship televised on NBC Sports, today announced its partners for its inaugural event, which will take place at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC, June 1-4. 

TST will partner with 16 different brands this summer to bring the tournament to life, including Ally, hummel, OOFOS, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), Aviation American Gin, BODYARMOR, Soccer.com, Mitre, Hyperice, Duke Sports Medicine, Kwik Goal, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Renegade GK, Central Carolina Chevy Dealers, US Air Force, and Wegmans. 

“We are excited by our group of partners for our inaugural event,” said TST founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “Interest in our event has been extraordinary. Everyone seems to appreciate the uniqueness of our 7v7 model and views this as a great opportunity to impact the most popular game in the world.”

In addition to sponsoring the event, Ally Financial, founding and lead partner of Charlotte FC and a well-known voice in the push for parity within sports, will team up with US Women, a TST team comprised of former US women’s National Team players organized by Heather O'Reilly and coached by Mia Hamm. The Ally logo will be featured on the US Women's kits for the tournament and, as part of the collaboration, Ally will produce a player interview series hosted by O’Reilly featuring top TST players. 

Ally and Charlotte FC's activations in the Fan Zone will be open to fans throughout the tournament, offering competitive games and premium prizes every soccer fan will love. 

“We’ve had a front row seat to the explosive growth of soccer across the country," said Stephanie Marciano, head of sports & entertainment at Ally. “We partnered with TST to build on that momentum, both in the Carolinas and nationally, while also advancing our efforts around equitable sports media visibility as we head into an exciting summer for women’s sports.”  

TST’s Official Apparel Partner, hummel, designed and produced custom home and away kits for over half of TST’s field. All TST participants will receive hummel and TST co-branded training gear upon arrival, and a range of hummel’s products will be featured in TST’s line of fan gear.

“As hummel celebrates its 100 year anniversary in sport, I cannot think of a more unique and captivating event that we could partner with,” said hummel’s US Manager, Jeff Duback. “We have worked closely with the design team at TST and with retail partner Soccer.com to bring at least 17 unique kits to the tournament as well as a full collection of co-branded apparel for fans. Something that we were proud to create and deliver all within 8 weeks. It will be incredible to see all the players, coaches, staff, and fans in hummel throughout the weekend event.”

OOFOS is providing a pair of Sport Flex footwear for all participants to help with recovery between matches. OOFOS feature OOfoam™, a scientifically proven impact-absorbing foam technology, and are designed to accelerate recovery post-performance to help you feel better faster. OOfoam™ technology in conjunction with a patented footbed design, helps absorb impact, reduce stress on the body and enhance mobility between training and games. OOFOS have become an essential recovery tool for many high-performance athletes and artists including professional football quarterbacks Derek Carr and Alex Smith, basketball coach Dawn Staley, Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman, Olympic gold medalist Ashley Caldwell, Boston Ballet Principal Dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy and Emmy-nominated choreographer Chloe Arnold.

“OOFOS is excited to be the official recovery footwear of The Soccer Tournament for its inaugural event. As the global leader in Active Recovery footwear, this tournament will help showcase our recovery technology by helping athletes recover faster, feel better and maximize their performance on the pitch,” says Darren Brown, head of marketing for OOFOS. “We understand the toll playing 4-5 soccer games in three days can take on the body, so we look forward to helping these athletes recharge between efforts, so they can perform at their best during this high-stakes event.”

Through its sponsorship of the event, Blue Cross NC will provide local youth soccer players the opportunity to participate in TST as “Blue Cross NC Kickoff Kids” and official tournament ball kids. Blue Cross NC will also be onsite during the event to interact with fans and encourage community support.

“As North Carolina’s home-state company, Blue Cross NC has celebrated and supported healthy communities across the state for 90 years,” said Kelly Calabria, Chief Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Blue Cross NC. “We look forward to sharing the importance of play, healthy lifestyles and community through this inaugural tournament with North Carolina families and soccer fans.”

Aviation American Gin, the Official Gin of TST, will be producing a signature cocktail created specifically for TST. The Million Dollar Mule will be available to fans attending TST and elsewhere around the Raleigh area leading up to the event. The cocktail will also be the toast of TST’s inaugural champions after they capture the $1 million prize.

BODYARMOR, the Official Sports Drink of The Soccer Tournament, will hydrate TST’s players on-field during matches, at training grounds, and across TST’s event footprint at WakeMed Soccer Park. Throughout the tournament, BODYARMOR will have a dedicated ‘Hydration Station’ within the Athletes Village – stocked all-day with ice-cold BODYARMOR Sports Drink products to keep players hydrated. 

A first-of-its-kind soccer event, TST will feature 32 teams from eight different countries competing in a World Cup-like group stage. Sixteen teams will advance to the knockout stage, where they will compete in single elimination games for a $1M grand prize. Teams competing in the event include 7-a-side teams from notable European clubs such as Borussia Dortmund, West Ham, Wolverhampton, Wrexham, Como 1907, Hapoel Tel Aviv, in addition to MLS club Charlotte FC, Liga MX’s Club Necaxa, Clint Dempsey’s Team Dempsey.

Notable players include two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash (Como 1907),  legendary Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas (Como 1907), NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (Nati SC), social media influencer and former MLS Academy product Noah Beck (Borussia Dortmund), among others. TST’s field will also include 23 former US senior national team players on both the men’s and women’s side with nearly 1400 matches of experience combined. 

The full game schedule for TST can be viewed at thetournament.com, and tickets for all TST games are on sale now at thetournament.com/tst-tickets. For more information, please contact info@thetournament.com.

ABOUT TBT ENTERPRISES

Founded in 2014, TBT Enterprises specializes in hosting high-stakes, open-application sporting events distributed across the world. TBT Enterprises' first property, The Basketball Tournament (TBT), has crowned nine champions, awarded more than $12 million in prizes, and ushered in innovations such as the Elam Ending® and its signature postgame bracket celebration, since adopted by the NBA and NCAA respectively. Launching June 2023, The Soccer Tournament (TST) will mark TBT Enterprises' expansion into sports beyond basketball. For more information on TBT Enterprises and its various properties, visit TheTournament.com.

ABOUT THE SOCCER TOURNAMENT (TST)

Launching in June 2023, The Soccer Tournament (TST) is the newest creation from TBT Enterprises. TST is an open-application, million dollar, winner-take-all competition. Teams will face off in a 32-team, World Cup model. It will feature a 7v7 format and host teams from all across the world. For more information on TST and how to enter a team, visit TheTournament.com.

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