5v5 Soccer presents soccer events in small-sided formats that are designed to give players more touches on the ball, as well as a better enjoyment of the game. Founder, Travis Tew, has developed a grassroots marketing strategy to work with local sports commissions or CVBs seeking new and large annual events.
SDM caught up with Travis to learn about 5v5 Soccer’s goals for 2023 and beyond, as well as its needs when seeking sites for tournaments.
Sports Destination Management: It sounds as though small-sided soccer has really taken off in the events marketplace. Previously, you were with 3v3 Soccer, and also with Warrior Soccer, which offered tournaments in various formats, from full-sided soccer, as well as 7v7, 5v5, 4v4, 3v3 and futsal.
Travis Tew: We moved away from the multiple formats; the logistics of trying to set up multiple fields was a nightmare, and the messaging was difficult. More importantly, we saw that most of the events we were doing, about 95 percent of them, had moved to 5v5.
SDM: What has the growth been like for 5v5?
Tew: It has been great – last year, we put on 60 tournaments. This year, we’re up to 80 and I feel like we’re just getting started.
SDM: Let’s talk for a minute about the advantages of 5v5.
Tew: It’s small-sided but you get a goalie; in 3v3, there is no goalie. This is more like traditional soccer. We have also started running 5v5 leagues, which operate sort of like pickup soccer in local parks; we just advertise that we are doing the leagues and when kids come, we divide them into teams. In the USA, kids don’t really play pickup soccer the way they do other sports, so we wanted to start that.
SDM: How many fields do you need to put on a tournament?
Tew: We’re easy – we need two to three full-size soccer fields, and we break each of those down into four 5v5 fields.
SDM: Are you looking for grass or turf fields when it comes to venues?
Tew: Either is fine. We can mark grass fields, but if we’re on turf, we can also use plastic cones to delineate playing areas.
SDM: A few years ago, when we talked, you noted that adult teams are gravitating to small-sided soccer. Is that still the case?
Tew: It is; adults love it because it is easier to find a few people to make up a team, it’s also a lot less running and it’s still the game they remember from high school or college.
SDM: Your season culminates with your National Championships in November. Are those growing as well?
Tew: Nationals have seen so much growth. We started out with 50 teams, built to 80 and this year, our goal is to have over 100 teams. We plan our tournament close to the Thanksgiving holiday so that people can go to the tournament and make it a long weekend.
SDM: How should people contact you if they want to host either regular tournaments or the Nationals?
Tew: They can go to our website and select from the menu on the upper right-hand corner, or they can just click on 5v5soccer.com/partner to learn more. What we’re really looking for is a strong local partner, someone with the lay of the land, who knows the local soccer community. We’re always interested in hearing from people.
SDM: What do you have in mind for the future?
Tew: We’ve already held a 5v5 World Cup, so we’d like to get that to grow. Something else to think about is the fact that as a sport, soccer loses 60 percent of its players once they turn 13 or 14. There are not as many options for them, between rec leagues and elite travel teams, particularly if they don’t make their high school team. I feel like 5v5 can be the missing piece here. We are running programs at the middle school level as well since there’s not as much play there. That is the future of our business, and a place where we can have an impact. SDM
About the Author
