Man United and Bayern Munich among clubs competing in brand new women’s seven-a-side competition next month

• The World Sevens Football tournament will take place in Portugal next month
• Teams will compete in seven-a-side games of two 15-minute halves 
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By TARA ANSON-WALSH

Manchester United have been named as one of the first teams to compete in a new women’s seven-a-side competition.

Marc Skinner’s side will be joined by Bayern Munich, Ajax and Benfica for the World Sevens Football (W7F) competition which will take place in Estoril, Portugal next month.

The groundbreaking new format will see teams compete in seven-a-side games of two 15-minute halves on pitches half the size of a regulation pitch, and a $5million (£3.75m) prize pool to be divided between players, clubs and staff, is promised per event.

The competition will be held over three days between 21-23 May 2025 ahead of the women’s Champions League final, also held in Portugal, on May 24 at Lisbon’s José Alvalade Stadium.

Skinner said: ‘This is a really exciting opportunity to be part of something new for the women’s game.

‘Our only focus right now is on finishing the domestic season as strongly as possible in the WSL and the FA Cup; then we can travel to Portugal to enjoy what promises to be an entertaining three days of fast, fun, seven-a-side football.’

Manchester United have been named as one of the teams who will compete in the competition

Manchester United manager Marc Skinner said their only focus is finishing the domestic season as strongly as possible before travelling to Portugal for ‘an entertaining three days’

Four other teams that will join Ella Toone and Co at the event are yet to be confirmed

The teams will be split into round-robin groups of four, feeding into semi-finals and a final hosted on the third day, with all sessions streamed live globally on DAZN.

The remaining four teams of the eight teams that will join Ella Toone and Co at the event are yet to be confirmed.

Alex Kroes, technical director of Ajax, said: ‘Innovation is a priority within our club. World Sevens Football provides an exciting opportunity for our players to demonstrate their creativity and skill in a fast-paced format.

‘We have a young and talented team with a lot of players from our own academy and we’re ready to compete fiercely.’

World Sevens Football – who have former United player Tobin heath on their Player Advisory Council – plans to expand to North America, with another event scheduled for later in the year.

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Man United and Bayern Munich among clubs competing in brand new women’s seven-a-side competition next month

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