Top European clubs to battle in $5 million women’s sevens tournament

Four of Europe's most prestigious football clubs will pioneer a revolutionary women's seven-a-side tournament next month with a lucrative $5 million prize pool at stake.

AFC Ajax Vrouwen, FC Bayern Women, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, and Manchester United Women were unveiled as participants on Thursday by organisers of the inaugural World Sevens Football (W7F) series, scheduled for May 21-23 in Estoril, Portugal.

The tournament introduces a rapid-fire format featuring matches of two 15-minute halves played on half-sized pitches, with all games streamed globally by sports and entertainment platform DAZN.

"Innovation is a priority within our club," said Alex Kroes, Technical Director of Ajax. "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."

The tournament structure will see eight teams — with four more yet to be announced — divided into round-robin groups before advancing to knockout stages culminating in a final on the third day.

Bianca Rech, Director of Women's Football at Bayern, described the tournament as "an exciting opportunity," while home-country representatives Benfica welcomed the chance to showcase elite women's football on Portuguese soil.

"As a club that has consistently championed women's football in Portugal, we are proud to be part of this historic competition and welcome these incredible athletes and fans to our home country," said Fernando Tavares, Benfica's Vice President.

Manchester United's participation comes amid their ongoing domestic campaign, with head coach Marc Skinner noting: "This is a really exciting