Registration for the 7 Elite Academy International Tournament has opened, with games running over three days in 2026 from Thursday, February 5 to Saturday, February 7. 

The event will no longer feature ‘Stay and Play’ for hotel accommodation, but all teams are urged to use official hotel partners or accommodation. There will also be no Sunday play.

Over 400 teams from across the world took part in the tournament in 2025 and it is expected that even more teams from the UK, Europe, Canada and beyond will travel to Utah and Nevada in 2026.

There will be an increased number of college coaches and club scouts at the event in 2026, giving more youngsters to opportunity to secure scholarships and pro trials.

Nick Nield, 7 Elite Academy International Tournament Director, said: “It is very exciting that the 7 Elite Academy International Tournament continues to expand at all levels, both locally and internationally.

“We carried out a thorough review after our 2025 event and decided that with so many more teams looking to take part in 2026, we had to make some changes to accommodate them.

“With that in mind, we will no longer be a ‘Stay and Play’ tournament, which means teams are free too choose their own accommodation. We do, however, have trusted hotel partners available with very good rates.

“There will also be no Sunday play, which again allows teams more flexibility in how they travel to our event and return afterwards.

“As soon as the final whistle blew in 2025, we had teams asking about registration for our 2026 event, so it is essential that we make these changes as soon as possible.

“These changes will allow us to continue our growth as the premier youth soccer event in the region and ensure even more teams can sample the unique atmosphere in St George, Washington and Mesquite.”

The tournament will again feature penalty shootouts for an extra point after every, as well as all-day food and entertainment for players, coaches and their families.

Anthony Godfrey, 7 Elite Academy Global Director, added: “We have seen our tournament evolve at all levels over the last few years, with so many more international and out of state teams due to play in 2026.

“We are delighted to launch registration and make sure that with our new policies on hotel accommodation and no Sunday play, we can bring in even more teams.

“We are very lucky to host the 7 Elite Academy International Tournament in such an incredible part of the world and with that in mind, we expect demand for places to be very high.

“Therefore, we are urging teams to register as soon as possible.”