Disney Season Kickoff Tournament to Feature U9-U19 Age Groups for Boys and Girls; New Event Kicks Off Slate of Six Annual Soccer Events at Disney; Also, Disney Junior Soccer Showcase Expanding with a 4v4 Tournament for U7-U10 Divisions; Registration Open for 2024-2025 Disney Soccer Showcases and Tournaments
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (May 23, 2024) – An entertaining new youth soccer event is coming to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. The Disney Season Kickoff Soccer Tournament will debut Oct. 12-13, 2024, giving teams another opportunity to compete and celebrate together at The Most Magical Place On Earth.
The new two-day tournament is open to boys and girls in the U9-U19 age groups and will feature a group play stage in which every team is guaranteed to play three games. The top teams in each age group advance to a championship game with trophies and medals awarded for first and second place finishes. Teams will also experience the magic that makes Disney Soccer events unique, including surprise appearances from Disney characters and the opportunity visit Walt Disney World Resort with teammates and family.
The Disney Season Kickoff soccer tournament will be the first of six soccer events at Disney during the 2024-2025 youth soccer season at Disney. One of those events, the Disney Junior Soccer Showcase (Nov. 29-Dec. 1), is expanding to include a 4v4 tournament for U7-U10 division teams. The 4v4 format features teams of four players competing on smaller fields with no goalies, creating fast-paced, high-scoring matches. The Disney Junior Soccer Showcase will still include a traditional 9v9 format for U11-U12 divisions and 11v11 format for U13-U14 divisions. Overall, the expanded junior showcase will provide more opportunities for elite youth players to test their skills against some of the best teams in the United States and neighboring countries.
Registration is open for the Disney Season Kickoff as well as the five other premier events on the Disney Soccer calendar, which give youth athletes the chance to compete against top-tier competition on professional-level grass fields that have been used by pro soccer clubs and international soccer teams. More than 16,000 athletes participate in Disney Soccer events each year, traveling to Walt Disney World from all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Teams can register for all Disney Soccer events at DisneySoccer.com.
| 2024-2025 Disney Soccer Calendar | ||
| Dates | Event | Ages/Divisions |
| Oct. 12-13, 2024 | Disney Season Kickoff Tournament | U9-U19 |
| Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2024 | Disney Junior Soccer Showcase | 4v4: U7-U10
9v9: U11-12 11v11: U13-U14 |
| Dec. 27-30, 2024 | Disney Boys Soccer Showcase | U15-U19 |
| Jan. 17-20, 2025 | Disney Girls Soccer Showcase | U15-U19 |
| Feb. 15-17, 2025 | Disney President’s Day Soccer Tournament | U9-U19 |
| May 24-26, 2025 | Disney Memorial Day Soccer Tournament | U9-U19 |
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, located at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, is the home of Disney Soccer and Disney Spring Training and one of the premier sites for amateur sports in the nation. Designed to provide professional, amateur and youth athletes with championship-level experiences, the complex has accommodated 70 different sports featuring athletes from 70 different countries. The 220-acre facility features a 9,500-seat stadium; a state-of-the-art indoor arena in addition to two field houses for competitive cheerleading, gymnastics, dance, basketball, volleyball, eSports and other indoor sports; plus 12 baseball/softball fields and 17multi-purpose outdoor fields for soccer, football and field hockey. An on-site professional production center also produces content for the Disney family of networks for global distribution. For more information, visit www.disneysportsnews.com for news releases, photos and videos and www.espnwwos.com for upcoming events.