Wrexham have dropped the annual TST Soccer tournament announcement for the upcoming 2026 edition featuring club legend Steven Fletcher.
On Saturday, Championship football returns to the Racecourse after a long gap of three weeks. The last time Wrexham played in front of their home fans was during the dull 1-1 draw against Leicester City. The Reds have seen multiple thrilling moments since then, with a late 3-2 comeback win over QPR and a dramatic end to the January transfer window with 3 signings.
Wrexham fans have thus, soaked enough action and excitement will again be sky high when Alex Neil’s high-flying Millwall arrives in town on the weekend. Meanwhile, the Red Dragons have given another reason to the fans to be excited for the upcoming future.
Wrexham drop annual TST Soccer announcement
The annual Wrexham announcement for TST Soccer is back. In their own words, the club wrote on X (formerly Twitter) saying: “The Wrexham Red Dragons are heading back to @TST7v7 for the first ever mixed tournament.”
Since 2023, the Wrexham Red Dragons have been participating in the annual TST Soccer tournament where clubs fight for the ultimate $1 million prize. A significant chunk of Wrexham fans, especially those hailing from the United States have followed the TST Soccer tournament enthusiastically for the past three years and running.
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They will already be well familiar with the tournament. But for those who don’t know, below is a quick deep dive on what the TST Soccer tournament is and how it works.
What is TST Soccer tournament?
Simply put, TST Soccer tournament is an annual 7 a side football competition with the end goal being to win the final and take the $1 million prize money home. The inaugural 2023 edition only had the men’s division with a separate women’s division coming into force from the following 2024 season onwards.
In the 2023 men’s division, there were 8 groups consisting of 4 teams each bringing the total to 32 teams. The top 2 teams from each group would qualify for the Round of 16, from where the tournament operated in a knockout manner similar to the FIFA World Cup. The very next 2024 season, saw an expansion in teams with now 48 teams across the men’s division spanning 12 groups.
Just like the 48 team FIFA World Cup 2026 model, the top 2 teams from every group qualified directly for the Round of 16 followed by the 8 best third-placed teams among the 12 groups. From then, the same one-off knockouts format followed.
TST Soccer tournament rules
The basics of the game remains the same. Score more goals and win the game. However, there are plenty of tweaks in the TST Soccer tournament as compared to how football is traditionally played worldwide.
To start with, the first 3 seasons of TST Soccer from 2023 to the most recent 2025 edition had 2 halves of 20 minutes each. The game wouldn’t stop there itself. Rather, those two halves of football were followed by an indefinite Target Score Time (TST) period that decided the outcome of the match.
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For example, if Team A led Team B 3-1 after the regulated two halves then the first team to score the fourth goal in Target Score Time won. It’s a bit like the old Golden Goal rule in football, where the winner was decided by first goal wins in extra time whenever two teams used to drew level in a knockout competition.
Substitution rules
For the first two halves of the game, both teams involved can call on any number of rolling substitutions they want. The term rolling means that teams can field substitutes at any point of the game irrespective of whether the ball is in play or not. Also, the player substituted out earlier is eligible to be called on at a later stage of the match unlike the Premier League and Championship substitution rules.
In the Target Score Tine though, there’s a thrilling change in substitution rules. Teams can still make rolling substitutions the same way as they do in the first two halves, but with a catch. Every 3 minutes, one player from both teams is reduced thus, bringing the 7v7 match to 6v6, 5v5 and so on till 1v1.
Understandably, this rule helps prevent indefinite Target Score Time from lasting for several hours.
Other rules
Except the substitution rules, there are various kinds of modifications in the general flow of the game. There is no concept like offsides in TST Soccer tournament and teams don’t lose possession when their players are found in an offside position.
Sliding tackles aren’t allowed, but there exists red cards for players who violate any of these rules. That then brings a 1 man disadvantage to the team, therefore, making it a 6v7 match from there on. Moreover, a goalkeeper can be replaced with an outfield player which is nothing new but happens quite rarely in normal football games.
When does TST Soccer 2026 edition start?
The 2026 edition of the TST Soccer tournament challenge will take place from 27th May to 1st June 2026 in the WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina. This time, the mixed division has also been added comprising of both men and women participants.
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For the 2026 TST Soccer tournament, the group stages will be played across 27th and 28th May. The Round of 32 will commence from 29th May for men’s division. Due to having only 16 teams as opposed to 48 men’s teams, there will be no Round of 32 or Round of 16 knockout stages for the women’s and mixed divisions.
The quarterfinals across all Men’s, Women’s and Mixed divisions will take place on 30th May with semi-finals on the 31st May. Last but not the least, the final showdowns across all Men’s, Women’s and Mixed divisions will take place on 1st June.
Wrexham Red Dragons previous TST Soccer tournaments
In the 2023 season, Wrexham Red Dragons, as the Reds team is called, topped their Group E with 3 consecutive wins over Como, Say Word FC and US Women. There were huge hopes of going all the way in the inaugural edition itself, but those dreams were cut short with a painful 4-3 defeat against Conrad and Beasley United.
Newton Pride FC were the eventual winners from the 2023 TST Soccer tournament. The next 2024 campaign again took off on a positive note for Wrexham Red Dragons. The team won 2 and lost the remaining group game to group F leaders Roha Eagles, finishing second as a result.
Call it luck, but not remaining unbeaten did help Wrexham Red Dragons advance from the Round of 32 with a massive 6-0 rout. Still, the Round of 16 misery continued with a crushing 5-1 defeat at the hands of Reggae Rovers. La Bombonera were crowned champions from that 2024 edition.
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The 2025 group stage run was identical to the 2024 one with one defeat alongside two wins. Heading in second from Group F, Wrexham Red Dragons again tried their best but this time, the journey came to a premature end in the Round of 32 itself.
Drip FC smashed Wrexham Red Dragons 6-2 while Bumpy Pitch FC walked away with the title. In the women’s division, the Wrexham Red Dragons have lost 3 out of 3 group stage games in both 2024 as well as 2025 women’s competitions.
Wrexham’s confirmed squad for 2026 TST Soccer tournament
The Wrexham Red Dragons teams for the Men’s and Women’s divisions haven’t been confirmed yet. However, there have been subtle hints for the mixed division which is set to take place for the very first time. Wrexham legend Steven Fletcher has featured on the Reds announcement meaning he will lead the club’s mixed division squad in four months time.
From the Wrexham women’s team, Rosie Hughes also features in the announcement. Will the Steven Fletcher and Rosie Hughes duo inspire the Wrexham Red Dragons to Mixed division title in June, let’s see.
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