Landon Donovan Headlines Coachella-Style The Soccer Tournament (TST) in Cary, North Carolina | OneFootball

Landon Donovan is returning to the pitch for The Soccer Tournament, a high stakes 7v7 competition with a festival atmosphere that's been dubbed the Coachella of soccer.

The exciting event takes place May 27-June 1 and will feature one of the most recognizable names and accomplished players to represent the Stars and Stripes. After watching the tournament from afar, essentially calling it can't-miss TV, Donovan decided to lace up his boots, step between the lines and enter the fray.

“I love the sport, I love growing the game and there’s no better time than before a home World Cup to go do it,” he said.

Donovan retired after the 2014 MLS regular season with L.A. Galaxy. Since then, the now 44-year-old admitted (understandably) he hasn’t kept the same fitness regimen he did during his time scoring an all-time leading 57 goals for the U.S. Men’s National Team. These days, exercise for him mostly takes the form of basic cardio, on a bike and playing hockey once a week.

That’s why TST is built perfectly for a player of Donovan’s skill level and star power. The 7v7 tournament offers a fan-first experience with up-close action and 160 matches over the course of six days. The tournament is broken down into three separate tournament groups: men’s, women’s and mixed. Matches consist of two 20-minute halves with a rolling clock, and every match is guaranteed to end on a dramatic game-winning goal.

“The format is brilliant,” Donovan said. “It invites lots of players to want to come do it. If this was an 11v11 game, you wouldn't see the same level of stars showing up to this tournament, so that part of it is going to be really fun.”

Donovan joins several high-profile soccer stars who have participated in TST since the inaugural event in 2023, including Spanish soccer legend Gerard Piqué, Argentina’s third all-time leading goal scorer Sergio “Kun” Agüero, and former Italian and Toronto FC superstar Sebastian Giovinco.

TST has also featured several notable USWNT alumni and World Cup winners including Heather O’Reilly, who will be seeking her third TST title this summer, Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger.

“Obviously there’s a reason why people want to keep coming back – it’s fun, run well and well-organized,” Donovan said. “I like getting to know people, and I think it's going to be a really fun experience to see it finally in person.”

Donovan will compete with Sneaky Fox, one of 12 teams in the mixed group. Overall, the team names themselves speak to the fun, competitive environment the tournament hosts. On the list are those with ties to professional clubs like Club América, Villarreal CF and Fort Lauderdale Strikers. They’ll face the likes of Drip FC, Piece of Cake FC and 2025 TST Men’s Champions Bumpy Pitch FC.

Known as the “World’s Most Electrifying Soccer Festival,” TST offers deep fan engagement with exclusive access and meet-and-greets with the stars. Donovan, gracious with fans and media alike, will participate, like his appearance with U.S. Soccer fans when he was a featured guest on the U.S. Soccer Podcast before the USA-Ecuador match at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas last fall.

“The growth is pretty remarkable that an event like [TST] can stand on its own,” he said. “U.S. Soccer’s done a great job of amplifying it and supporting it. They realize, because they’re smart, that this has a lot of legs, so I only anticipate it getting bigger and bigger.”

The event will bring two high-profile moments to the state of North Carolina in just the span of a few days. TST takes place at WakeMed Soccer Park, home of the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL. Donovan has fond memories of the venue. It was the site that kicked off the USMNT’s quarterfinal run in the 2002 Men’s World Cup, the same tournament where Donovan became a social media sensation for his game-winning goal against Algeria.

Then, on May 31 the U.S. Men’s National Team, where Donovan still holds the record for most goals scored by a player, tied with Clint Dempsey, will face World Cup-bound Senegal in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium. The non-official match will be the first chance for fans to see the USMNT roster for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Donovan might have retired from the professional game, but he hasn’t lost his competitive edge. At stake in TST is a winner-take-all, million-dollar prize. After joking that he put a clause in his contract about being rewarded 100 percent of the winnings, the author of “Landon” went on the record to confirm that if his team wins, he wants to find a way to put his portion of the money back into the game.

“It entices people to come, and it makes the competition fun,” Donovan said of the winner-take-all prize. “If there was nothing at stake, you wouldn't get people who really, really would rely on this or depend on this money to come. Players who are good – a lot of indoor players, college players, kids who this will mean a lot to. That makes the competition good. So, it's a brilliant idea.”

Here is the list of U.S. National Team players competing in 2026 TST: