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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tom Coley

Chelsea legend set for pre-season USA return with Wrexham and USWNT stars

Wrexham are just one of 32-teams set to face-off in a new pre-season competition this summer and a Chelsea legend will also be present.

The new seven-a-side competition in America this summer, The Soccer Tournament, is taking place in North Carolina this June, and is a completely new addition to the footballing calendar and will feature some global icons.

The Red Dragons are already preparing themselves for a major pre-season, facing Chelsea as well as Manchester United and LA Galaxy II as they prepare for League Two football next season.

READ MORE: Chelsea can secure $126m windfall that hands Todd Boehly key Joao Felix transfer chance

Player-coach David Jones and former players Paul Rutherford, Shaun Pearson and Mark Carrington are all in the squad for Wrexham. Along with a $1m prize for the winner, there is also the chance to face off against other icons.

Como midfielder and former Premier League great Cesc Fabregas will be playing in the same group as Wrexham, meanwhile USWNT have a team in Group E. Say Word FC will represent black colleges and universities in America while Youtube side Hashtag United have also entered.

The rules of the tournament also differ to normal games. There are no draws in the competition and the winner is the first to reach a 'target score time.' There will initially be two, 20-minute halves and then the team that reaches the target score after that will be the winner.

It potentially allows for teams to get back into a game.

The tournament includes former USMNT forward Clint Dempsey whilst NBA star Chris Paul is one of the owners. There was a $10,000 buy in fee for the first 10 sides, $15,000 for the next 10, $20,000 for the next 11 and a 32nd slot auctioned off to the highest bidder, all competing for the chance to win over five days.

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