Tickets, traffic and what you need to know about The Soccer Tournament in Cary

By Ryan Bisesi, WRAL multiplatform producer

Cary, N.C. — The Soccer Tournament is here in the Triangle this week. It is a star-studded world championship for 7-on-7 soccer. The tournament promises a fast-paced, action-packed set of games over four days with $1 million at stake.

Tournament CEO Jon Mugar said Cary was picked for having some of the highest quality playing fields on the east coast and he hopes they can hold the tournament every year.

Here's a fan's guide to the inaugural tournament.

What: A four-day soccer tournament featuring teams from around the world.

Where: WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina

When: June 1 - June 4

Format: 32 teams playing 7-on-7 soccer in a winner-take-all format with a top prize of $1 million. The format of The Tournament will mirror the World Cup, with group play, a knockout round followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and a championship on Sunday, June 4. Games will be played in two 20-minute halves on a smaller field (65 x 45 yards). The halftime break is only two minutes long.

Target score: After 40 minutes of play, the team that wins must be the first to reach a target score during an untimed period. The game clock will shut off at the end of regulation and the first team to reach the target score will win. The target score is one more goal than the leading team's tally at that time. If one team is up 5-3, then the target score is 6 and the first team to reach 6 goals would win the match. In the untimed period, teams will lose a player on the field every five minutes until the target score is reached. Therefore, 7-on-7 play will be reduced to 6-on-6 after five minutes, 5-on-5 after 10 minutes and so forth all the way to 1-on-1 play if necessary.

The concept is similar to the 'Elam Ending' used during The Basketball Tournament.

Rules: No slide tackles, no throw-ins (indirect free kicks will take their place), no offsides, and substitutions are made on the fly. Goalkeepers have six seconds to release the ball after picking it up.

Tickets: You can buy tickets online for day and evening sessions Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the championship match on Sunday. Stadium passes start at $35. Tickets are not available at the stadium.

Parking: Parking passes must be purchased online and cannot be purchased at the stadium. Expect delays along Chatham Street through the weekend.

Fan activities: A fan village, autograph opportunities and food trucks will be on site.

How to watch: Games will be streamed on Peacock and YouTube.

The teams: A total of 275 teams applied for the field, speaking to the popularity of the the tournament.

One of the biggest teams is Wrexham, the oldest club in Welsh football history, and the third oldest football club in the world, which popped into the consciousness of American fans when actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the team and documented the challenges they faced as first-time owners in a TV series. The club is featured on the hit show "Welcome to Wrexham."

Two of the more popular teams participating are Team Dempsey, entered by National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Clint Dempsey, and popular British football and esports club Hashtag United.

North Carolina's own Charlotte FC is the only MLS team represented in the tournament. The Raleigh Rebels will represent Raleigh as two-time Omega Ball champions and also found success in winning the NISL and Queen City Cup. The Rebels, Charlotte FC, North Carolina FC and the Duke Sevens (made up of Duke alums) make up Group H.

Former UNC and Carolina Courage star Heather O'Reilly is among the players on the U.S. women's team participating in the tournament. They are the only all-women's team in the tournament. There are several teams with men and women players.

"This complex is really important to me," said O'Reilly, who lives in Chapel Hill. "Came here, I won as a senior at UNC on this field, won in my final professional game with the Courage in 2019 at this field so WakeMed is good to me."

Group pairings

GROUP A
Borussia Dortmund (featuring goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller as well as social media influencer Noah Beck)
Hoosier Army (a team made up of alumni of Indiana University)
Kingdom FC
Newtown Pride FC

GROUP B
Wolves (EPL)
Blade & Grass FC (featuring former U.S. players Geoff Cameron and Brek Shea)
DMV Diplomats
Villita FC

GROUP C
Club Necaxa (LIGA MX)
Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israeli Premier League)
SLC FC
Virginia Dream

GROUP D
West Ham (EPL)
Culture by Mo Ali FC
Dallas United
Far East United

GROUP E
Wrexham Red Dragons (owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney)
Como 1907 (featuring NBA legend Steve Nash)
US Women (featuring former U.S. stars Heather O’Reilly, Lori Lindsey, Kristine Lilly, and Cat Whitehil)
Say Word FC

GROUP F
Hashtag UTD (Isthmian Premier League)
Conrad & Beasley UTD (Featuring Jimmy Conrad and DaMarcus Beasley)
Nati SC (featuring former NFL wide receiver Chad OchoCinco)
Gracie FC

GROUP G
Team Dempsey (coached by Clint Dempsey and includes former U.S. men's national team teammates Eddie Johnson and Jermaine Jones)
Sneaky Fox FC (roster includes former USMNT players Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon, Nick Rimando, and Jay DeMerit)
Zala FFF
Jackson Boom

GROUP H
Charlotte FC (MLS)
Duke Sevens (Duke Alumni)
NCFC (USL)
Raleigh Rebels

Schedule

• Weds, May 31: Arrivals
• Thurs, June 1: Group play starts
• Fri, June 2: Group play ends
• Fri, June 2: Knockout round (16 teams)
• Sat, June 3: Quarterfinals and semifinals
• Sun, June 4: The $1 million championship

THURSDAY DAY SESSION (GROUP STAGE ROUND 1)

• Borussia Dortmund vs. Hoosier's Army - Group A - 9 a.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Wolves FC vs. Villita FC - Group B - 9:15 a.m. - Field 3
• Blade & Grass FC vs. DMV Diplomats - Group B - 9:30 a.m. - Field 4
• Kingdom FC vs. Newtown Pride FC - Group A - 9:45 a.m. - Field 5
• Far East United vs. West Ham United - Group D - 10:30 a.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Club Necaxa vs. SLC FC - Group C - 10:45 a.m. - Field 3
• Culture By Mo Ali FC vs. Dallas United - Group D - 11 a.m. -Field 4
• Hapoel Tel Aviv vs. Virginia Dream - Group C - 11:15 a.m. - Field 5
• US Women vs. Say Word FC - Group E - 12 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Team Dempsey vs. Jackson TN Boom - Group G - 12:15 p.m. - Field 3
• Hashtag United vs. Nati SC - Group F - 12:30 p.m. - Field 4
• Conrad & Beasley United vs. Gracie FC - Group F - 12:45 p.m. - Field 5
• Como 1907 vs. Wrexham Red Dragons - Group E - 1:30 p.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Charlotte FC vs. North Carolina FC - Group H - 1:45 p.m. - Field 3
• Sneaky Fox vs. ZALA FFF - Group G - 2 p.m. - Field 4
• Duke Sevens vs. Raleigh Rebels - Group H - 2:15 p.m. - Field 5

THURSDAY EVENING SESSION (GROUP STAGE ROUND 2)

• Blade & Grass FC vs. Wolves FC - Group B - 5 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Borussia Dortmund vs. Newtown Pride FC - Group A -5:15 p.m. - Field 3
• Hoosier's Army vs. Kingdom FC - Group A - 5:30 p.m. - Field 4
• DMV Diplomats vs. Villita FC - Group B - 5:45 p.m. - Field 5
• Dallas United vs. West Ham United - Group D - 6:30 p.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Club Necaxa vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv - Group C - 6:45 p.m. - Field 3
• Culture By Mo Ali FC vs. Far East United - Group D - 7 p.m. - Field 4
• SLC FC vs. Virginia Dream - Group C - 7:15 p.m. - Field 5
• US Women vs. Wrexham Red Dragons - Group E - 8 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Conrad & Beasley United vs. Hashtag United - Group F - 8:15 p.m. - Field 3
• Gracie FC vs. Nati SC - Group F - 8:30 p.m. - Field 4
• Como 1907 vs. Say Word FC - Group E - 8:45 p.m. - Field 5
• Sneaky Fox vs. Team Dempsey - Group G -9:30 p.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Charlotte FC vs. Duke Sevens - Group H - 9:45 p.m. - Field 3
• Jackson TN Boom vs. ZALA FFF - Group G - 10 p.m. - Field 4
• North Carolina FC vs. Raleigh Rebels - Group H - 10:15 p.m. - Field 5

FRIDAY DAY SESSION (GROUP STAGE ROUND 3)

• Borussia Dortmund vs. Kingdom FC - Group A - 9 a.m. - Stadium Field 1
• DMV Diplomats vs. Wolves FC - Group B - 9:30 a.m. - Field 3
• Hoosier's Army vs. Newtown Pride FC - Group A - 9 a.m. - Field 4
• Blade & Grass FC vs. Villita FC - Group B - 9:30 a.m. - Field 5
• Culture By Mo Ali FC vs. West Ham United - Group D - 10:30 a.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Hapoel Tel Aviv vs. SLC FC - Group C - 11 a.m. - Field 3
• Club Necaxa vs. Virginia Dream - Group C - 11 a.m. - Field 5
• Say Word FC vs. Wrexham Red Dragons - Group E - 12 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Conrad & Beasley United vs. Nati SC - Group F - 12:30 p.m. - Field 4
• Como 1907 vs. US Women - Group E - 12 p.m. - Field 3
• Gracie FC vs. Hashtag United - Group F - 12:30 p.m. - Field 5
• Team Dempsey vs. ZALA FFF - Group G - 1:30 p.m. -Stadium Field 2
• Charlotte FC vs. Raleigh Rebels - Group H - 2 p.m. - Field 3
• Jackson TN Boom vs. Sneaky Fox - Group G - 1:30 p.m. - Field 4
• Duke Sevens vs. North Carolina FC - Group H - 2 p.m. - Field 5

FRIDAY EVENING SESSION (ROUND OF 16)

• Group A 1st Seed vs. Group B 2nd Seed - 6 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Group C 1st Seed vs. Group D 2nd Seed - 6:15 p.m. - Field 3
• Group E 1st Seed vs. Group F 2nd Seed - 7:15 p.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Group G 1st Seed vs. Group H 2nd Seed - 7:30 p.m. - Field 3
• Group B 1st Seed vs. Group A 2nd Seed - 8:30 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Group D 1st Seed vs. Group C 2nd Seed - 8:45 p.m. - Field 3
• Group F 1st Seed vs. Group E 2nd Seed - 9:45 p.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Group H 1st Seed vs. Group G 2nd Seed - 10 p.m. - Field 3

SATURDAY DAY SESSION (QUARTERFINALS)

• Match 49 Winner vs. Match 50 Winner - 12 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Match 51 Winner vs. Match 52 Winner - 1:15 p.m. - Stadium Field 2
• Match 53 Winner vs. Match 54 Winner - 2:30 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Match 55 Winner vs. Match 56 Winner - 3:45 p.m. - Stadium Field 2

SATURDAY EVENING SESSION (SEMIFINALS)

• Match 57 Winner vs. Match 58 Winner - 7 p.m. - Stadium Field 1
• Match 59 Winner vs. Match 60 Winner - 8:30 p.m. - Stadium Field 2

SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP

• Match 61 Winner vs. Match 62 Winner - 3 p.m. - Stadium Field 1