The Soccer Tournament logo

On Monday, NBC announced a new soccer media rights deal.

NBC’s Peacock will air 27 matches from The Soccer Tournament, a new event from the people behind The Basketball Tournament and its heralded Elam Ending.

Peacock’s coverage begins on June 1st with live airings of eight group stage matches in the 32 team tournament. Peacock will also air four live group stage matches on June 2nd, along with the eight-match knockout stage and the four-match quarterfinals. The semifinals will air live on June 3rd, with the Championship game airing on June 4th. The Championship will also air live on CNBC, and a replay will air on NBC June 10th.

Here’s the full schedule, from NBC’s release.

 Peacock Match Schedule (Live)

  • Borussia Dortmund vs. Hoosiers Army (Indiana Alumni) – June 1, 9 am ET
  • West Ham United vs. Far East United – June 1, 10:30 am ET
  • US Women vs. Say Word FC – June 1, Noon ET
  • Wrexham Red Dragons vs. Como 1907 – June 1, 1:30 pm ET
  • Wolverhampton vs. Blade & Grass – June 1, 5 pm ET
  • Club Necaxa vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv – June 1, 6:30 pm ET
  • Wrexham Red Dragons vs. US Women – June 1, 8 pm ET
  • Team Dempsey vs. Sneaky Fox – June 1, 9:30 pm ET
  • Borussia Dortmund vs. Kingdom FC – June 2, 9 am ET
  • West Ham United vs. Culture by Mo Ali FC – June 2, 10:30 am ET
  • Wrexham Red Dragons vs. Say Word FC – June 2, Noon ET
  • Team Dempsey vs. Zala FFF – June 2, 1:30 pm ET
  • Knockout Round (8 games) – June 2, 6pm – 11 pm ET
  • Quarterfinals (4 games) – June 2, 12 pm – 4:45 pm ET
  • Semifinals (2 games) – June 3, 7 pm – 9:30 pm ET
  • TST $1M Championship Game – June 4, 3 pm ET

National TV Schedule

  • TST $1M Championship Game (Live) – June 4, 3 pm ET (CNBC)
  • TST $1M Championship Game (Encore) – June 10, 2 pm ET (NBC)

The rest of the schedule can be viewed on TST’s website. The matches not airing on Peacock will be available on YouTube.

The Soccer Tournament is a seven on seven tournament with 32 teams representing various teams taking part. Following a group stage of eight four-team groups, a traditional single elimination tournament will take place until a winner is crowned. The team page of TST’s website contains plenty of familiar names, including noted soccer analyst Chad Johnson.

It’s been several years since ESPN started airing The Basketball Tournament, and it’s a bit surprising it took this long to branch out into another sport. TBT has gained steam over the years as a summer programming staple on ESPN, and its famed Elam Ending has even been adopted by the NBA in its annual All-Star Game.

The seven-on-seven aspect of TST is its major hook, though the field is much smaller, games are shorter (two twenty minute halves), and substitutions can be made without waiting for a stoppage in play. There are various other rule changes (no throw-ins and no offside, for instance) that could also be interesting.

Matches will also end with “target score time,” which is similar to the Elam Ending. I’ll let TST’s website explain.

4.1 Target Score Time ™– Every Game Ends On A Goal ™

a) Upon conclusion of the two 20-minute halves, the teams shall enter an untimed period during whic the official winner will be determined by the first team to reach a predefined Target Score™, as described below.

b) The Target Score Time ™ will be defined as one more goal than the leading team’s goal tally after the two halves.

i. For example: If Team A has 6 goals and Team B has 4 goals, the Target Score ™ will be set at 7 goals and the Teams will play until a team reaches 7 goals. 

c) If the Teams have the same score after the two 20-minute halves, the official winner will be declared by the next team to score.

d) During  Target Score Time ™, if a winner is not determined in the first five (5) minutes, one (1) player from each team will come off the field resulting in a 6v6 game. Then, every incremental 5 minutes after that, another player will come off to result in 4v4, 3v3, 2v2, 1v1 until the Target Score™ is met to end the game and declare a winner. 

Okay, I’m sold.

Anyway, if you need something to tide you over between the end of the Premier League season and the FA Cup Final, TST might be worth a shot.

[NBC]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.