One pitch.
One day.
Sixteen teams.
A one-day small-sided women’s football festival in Philadelphia. Four guaranteed matches, a jersey you keep, and a party on the pitch when the last whistle goes.
Saturday, January 16, 2027 Ballers Philadelphia · Fishtown
Early bird pricing holds until November 1. Rosters of six to eight. Adults, 18 and over.
The format
Built for nonstop play
Most tournaments pad rosters and short the minutes. We capped rosters at eight on purpose: four players on a small pitch, no keeper, rolling subs — the ball is never far away, and it stays that way for seventy-two minutes of football across the day.
Dropping keepers is the other half of it. No one on your roster is locked into a specialist job, nobody is stuck in goal because they volunteered once, and your day does not hinge on whether your one keeper shows up. Everybody attacks, everybody defends.
Two divisions run side by side — Competitive and Recreational — so a side that plays together every week and a side that got together last month both get a real day out.
- The game4v4, no goalkeepersSmall goals. Rolling substitutions.
- RosterMinimum 6, maximum 8The cap is the point — it is what keeps your minutes high.
- Match lengthTwo 9-minute halves22-minute slots, running all day on one pitch.
- Your dayFour matches, 72 minutesThree group games, then a placement round.
- StructureTwo divisions of eightTwo groups of four in each.
- OfficialsA referee on every matchPlus timekeeping and scoring all day.
- Full rulesTBD Published before entries closeGoal size, substitution and tie-break detail land in the competition rules.
Saturday, January 16
From first whistle to last call
Ballers is ours for the whole day and the room stays open late. Football from half past eight in the morning, a championship under the lights, and then the pitch becomes the dance floor.
Food and drink are served all day — there is a full restaurant and bar on site, so your supporters have somewhere to be between your matches.
- 7:30am
Check-in opens
Rosters confirmed, jerseys collected, coffee found.
- 8:30am
First whistle
Group stage begins across both divisions.
- Midday
Group stage continues
Matches run back to back in 22-minute slots.
- Evening
Placement round
Every team plays a fourth match. Last whistle at 8:44pm.
- 10:00pm
Championship decided
Both divisions settled, trophies lifted.
- 10pm–12am
Party on the pitch
Included with every entry. You already paid for the floor.
Entry
Pick your division
Team fees cover the whole roster. Sixteen places, two divisions, first come first served. Early bird rates hold until November 1, and entries close December 1.
Competitive
$795 per team
Early bird · $895 from November 2
For sides who play together and want to be pushed. Eight teams, two groups of four, and a championship worth winning.
Enter competitiveRecreational
$495 per team
Early bird · $595 from November 2
Same format, same day, same party — a division where the football is friendlier and nobody is scouting you.
Enter recreationalFree agent
$95 per player
Early bird · $110 from November 2
No team? Register on your own and we will place you on a roster that needs you. You get the same four matches as everyone else.
Register as a free agentWhat entry includes
One for every player, in the design your team picks, and yours to keep.
Guaranteed, whatever your results. Nobody goes home after two.
Pitch-side from 10pm to midnight, for players and their people.
Friday welcome night, Saturday football, Sunday morning. Venue, officials and trophies all in.
Entries close December 1, 2026 — or sooner if all sixteen places fill. TBD Refund policy, weather policy and the player waiver are published alongside the competition rules. Registration and payment are handled on SportsEngine.
The jersey
Play in a women's sports bar jersey
Every team at this festival wears a custom jersey designed by a women's sports bar — one of the rooms that put the women's game on the big screen with the sound up long before anyone else would. You choose which one your team plays in when you register, and it is yours to keep.
- You chooseWhich bar you play forPicked at registration. One design per team, first come first served.
- Every jerseyBelongs to a real venueTheir design, their city — and for a day, your team.
- Every jerseyThe festival crest, left chestThe same mark across both divisions.
- Every jerseySportsballer, on the sleeveThe festival's national partner.
- Both divisionsCompetitive and RecreationalSame jersey program either way — the division changes the football, not the shirt on your back.
- You bringShorts and socksYour own. We are not going to pretend we know what you want to play in.
- The designsTBD Go live before you have to chooseThe full set is published ahead of selection, so nobody picks blind.
Built by Icarus Football
Icarus Football designs and makes every jersey in the festival. They are the team behind the Icarus Cup, and they have spent years turning clubs' ideas into jerseys people actually want to wear — which is why these are real designs from real rooms rather than sixteen variations on a template.
Same weekend
The bars behind the jerseys are in town too
The Women's Sports Bar Collective holds its Founding Summit in Philadelphia across the same weekend, hosted by The Stoop Pigeon — the independent venues that built somewhere to watch the women's game, in one room together for the first time. If you run one of them, that is the room you want to be in.
About the Summit
The weekend
The football is Saturday. The weekend is a party.
Teams travel in for this, so there is something on either side of it.
Friday and Sunday are optional, open to everyone, and included with your entry.
Friday, Jan 15
The Stoop Pigeon · 6–9pm
Welcome night. Come meet the teams you are about to play, and pick up your jerseys early if you want your Saturday morning back — anything not collected here is waiting for you at check-in. Included with your entry.
Saturday, Jan 16
Ballers Philadelphia
The festival. Check-in from 7:30am, football from 8:30am, championship at 10pm, party on the pitch until midnight.
Sunday, Jan 17
The Stoop Pigeon · 11am–3pm
A women's sports brunch to celebrate the inaugural festival and the Women's Sports Bar Collective Summit. Come and go as you please — casual connections, cocktails, and women's sports on the TV.
Partners
Put your name on the day
A full day of women's football in front of a travelling crowd, in a venue that stays open to midnight — with pitch-side, division and jersey positions still open. Tell us what you are trying to reach and we will build the package around it.
Or email Jami directly at jd@lovecityfootball.com.
Questions
Before you enter
Who can play?
Adults, 18 and over. The festival is a women's competition.
How many players do I need?
Six at minimum, eight at maximum. Four are on the pitch at a time with no goalkeeper, and substitutions roll, so a roster of eight keeps everyone fresh across four matches.
What if I don't have a team?
Register as a free agent. We place free agents onto rosters that need players, and you play the same four matches as everybody else.
Do we get jerseys, or a full kit?
Jerseys. Every player on the roster gets one, in whichever design your team picked at registration, made by Icarus Football and yours to keep. Shorts and socks are your own — bring what you like playing in.
Is there football on Sunday?
No. All of the football is Saturday, January 16. That is deliberate — a one-day festival means nobody travels for a second day that half the field skips.
When do entries close?
December 1, 2026 — or sooner if all sixteen places fill, which is the more likely of the two. Early bird rates end November 1.
Where do I register?
Entries are handled on SportsEngine. Every button on this page takes you straight there.
What happens if the weather turns?
TBD The weather and refund policy is published with the competition rules.