Burnley

The Soccer Tournament is going to feature teams captained by former NFL star J.J. Watt and former U.S. women's national team forward Kealia Watt.

It was announced on Wednesday the power couple, who also own a stake in Premier League club Burnley, will captain the men's and women's team in the $1 million winner-take-all seven-on-seven Soccer Tournament.

JJ & KEALIA WATT WILL PLAY FOR BURNLEY FC AT TST‼️@BurnleyOfficial is putting teams in both TST's Men's and Women's Tournaments this June (the first @premierleague club to do so)!

Kealia Watt WILL LEAD @burnleyfcwomen and JJ Watt WILL PLAY with the men's team😲

TST TICKETS:… pic.twitter.com/AOAoXejLYc

— TST (@TST7v7) April 10, 2024

"It's really exciting for both Kealia and I to headline Burnley's men's and women's teams at TST," J.J. said in a statement. We've called some friends and are planning on bringing the best teams we can to compete. We are both highly competitive individuals, so we'll be giving it our all in claret and blue! It's going to be a proud moment for me, captaining the Burnley men's team. The club and town have an important place in my heart, so I want to represent Burnley well. Now it's all about preparing so we're ready to go."

Kealia also issued a statement, including being able to be part of the first iteration of the women's tournament:

"We're delighted to announce our involvement in TST. Having the opportunity to represent Burnley on the pitch and compete against clubs from around the globe will be incredibly special.

"I'm also looking forward to making history with the inaugural women's tournament. This is an important addition and I'm pleased to see TST's commitment to an equal prize for the winning men's and women's teams. I'm looking forward to playing in the Burnley shirt and reuniting with some of my former team-mates."

The Soccer Tournament was established in October 2022 by TBT Enterprises, the organization that developed the Basketball Tournament.

The soccer version follows a similar format to the Basketball Tournament. It features 32 teams competing seven-on-seven with two 20-minute halves and a version of the Elam Ending with a target score time.

After the end of the second half, the teams play an untimed period in which the winner is determined by the first one to reach a predefined target score. The target score is one more goal than the team that is leading at the end of regulation.

For instance, if one team holds a 5-3 lead at the conclusion of the second half, the first team to reach six six goals will win. If the score is tied at the end of the second half, the first team to score during the untimed period wins.

Games are contested on a smaller field and some traditional soccer rules, including slide tackles and punting/dropkicks by goalies, are prohibited.

Newtown Pride FC defeated Toronto Athletic FC 2-0 to win the inaugural tournament last year.

The 2024 Soccer Tournament will take place from June 5 to 10 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.

JJ Watt is taking his new role as a part-owner of English soccer club Burnley seriously.

Well, OK, not that seriously.

The recently retired defensive end appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday and said he took part in a pub crawl for "research" purposes as he gets acclimated to his post-football career:

"I did a pub crawl yesterday on my way to the stadium, so I started at the Royal Dyche, I worked my way down to Vintage Claret, all the way up to Turf Moor, and just getting to know the supporters. I just want to earn their trust by showing them how much we care and how passionate we are. ...

"It's research. I'm doing research, lots of pints of Guinness along the way. But it was a lot of fun and it was really good to get to know them on a personal level, and hopefully they get to know us as well."

'I did a pub crawl yesterday on my way to the stadium... it's research'

NFL star JJ Watt has spoken to #BBCBreakfast about why he's invested in newly promoted Burnley as they prepare to return to the Premier Leaguehttps://t.co/x7BDVArM9h pic.twitter.com/KXxXFQ9HOy

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) May 9, 2023

Watt and his wife, former USWNT midfielder Kealia Watt, were announced as part owners of the franchise last week. Burnley won the EFL Championship this season, clinching promotion to the Premier League, and Watt was in attendance Monday at the team's last match of the season.

Burnley won top-flight titles in 1921 and 1960, though the club has never finished higher than seventh in the top tier since the Premier League era began in 1992.

J.J. and Kealia Watt announced Monday that they've become minority owners in English soccer club Burnley.

J.J. joked that he's "officially retiring from retirement" after bringing his legendary NFL career to an end following the 2022 season. Kealia, meanwhile, boasts plenty of experience in the game. She last suited up for the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars in 2021 and has represented the United States national team.

I’m officially retiring from retirement.

Kind of…

Just watch. @BurnleyOfficial

UTC! pic.twitter.com/LGW2H9x90C

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 1, 2023

US sporting power couple, NFL star JJ Watt and football pro wife Kealia Watt, join the Clarets family! 🤝

Welcome to Burnley @JJWatt & @KealiaOhai 😃

— Burnley FC (P) (@BurnleyOfficial) May 1, 2023

In Monday's announcement, the Watts emphasized the importance of recognizing Burnley's long history:

When you invest in a club that's been around since 1882, you must have great respect for its history and tradition. We understand that not only are we investing in the squad and manager, we're investing in the town and its people. We take that responsibility very seriously and intend to work hard in earning their trust and support.

They witnessed the atmosphere at Turf Moor firsthand when they attended Burnley's 3-0 win over Wigan on March 11.

Now is a great time to come aboard.

The Clarets are one week removed from securing the EFL Championship title, which guarantees them promotion to the Premier League, an achievement that brings more stature and significantly higher revenues. Deloitte estimated moving up to England's top division can be worth £170 million to a club over three seasons.

New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins has purchased a minority stake in English Premier League club Burnley.

🏈 Two-time @SuperBowl champion and three-time Pro Bowl Safety @MalcolmJenkins touched-down at Turf Moor last Saturday 🏟️#UTC

— Burnley FC (P) (@BurnleyOfficial) October 20, 2021

Jenkins explained why he was drawn to the Clarets in Wednesday's announcement:

I'm excited to enter this new relationship, as Burnley FC is known for its tenacity, work ethic, good sportsmanship and efficient operational infrastructure. It's a great fit for me personally and my company to invest in the growth of the sport alongside a historic organization that aligns with our company values.

The Athletic's Matt Slater reported in January that ALK Capital paid around £150 million to purchase an 84 percent stake in Burnley, continuing the ongoing trend of American firms taking control of English clubs.

With Wednesday's deal, Jenkins claimed a minority stake in the investment group after having already launched his own venture capital fund.

After returning to the Premier League in 2016, Burnley has been able to avoid getting dragged into a relegation fight for the most part. That may not be the case this season. The club is 18th in the table, having won none and drawn three of its first eight fixtures.

Burley issued a statement Monday after a plane with a banner reading "White Lives Matter Burnley" flew over Etihad Stadium during the club's 5-0 loss to Manchester City. 

"Burnley Football Club strongly condemns the actions of those responsible for the aircraft and offensive banner that flew over The Etihad Stadium on Monday evening," the club said. "We wish to make it clear that those responsible are not welcome at Turf Moor. This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and issue lifetime bans."

Burnley captain Ben Mee addressed the situation in his post-match interview as well:

"I'm ashamed and embarrassed"

Burnley's Ben Mee responds to an offensive banner flown over the Etihad Stadium before today's game with Man City

More: https://t.co/CyyQFEMaNA pic.twitter.com/7sEb4cyM9m

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 22, 2020

According to Reuters, the plane flew over the stadium shortly after the start of the match, and the origin of the banner is unknown.

The aerial banner tactic is often utilized by supporters to convey their frustration with a club's manager or ownership.

The Premier League has used its restart to help draw attention toward the ongoing protest movement seeking meaningful reforms addressing systemic racism, racial inequality and police brutality. The demonstrations began as a response to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in the United States.

Ahead of the league's first match back last week, players from Aston Villa and Sheffield United both took a knee after the opening whistle as a show of solidarity.

🎙 - "A powerful image to show football's social conscience."

Players from both sides take a knee before kick-off to show support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Watch #AVFC v #SUFC live on Sky Sports PL now: https://t.co/hS2ppOif6Y pic.twitter.com/SbGxZenQOU

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 17, 2020

The Premier League also granted the players' request to wear "Black Lives Matter" on the back of their shirts in place of their surnames for the first 12 matches after the restart.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche suggested Jesse Lingard went down too easily to earn the penalty that set up Manchester United's comeback at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

The Red Devils' eight-match winning run under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came to an end against Dyche's Clarets, as United drew 2-2 at home to remain sixth in the Premier League, two points off the top four.

It could have been worse for the hosts, though, as they were trailing 2-0 until Paul Pogba converted a penalty in the 87th minute and Victor Lindelof equalised in the second minute of stoppage time.

Substitute Lingard won the spot-kick by falling to the ground in the box after Jeff Hendrick pulled him back by the shoulder.

Dyche said after the match he felt it was a soft penalty, and he also bemoaned the five minutes of stoppage time added by referee Jon Moss, per the Daily Mail's Chris Wheeler:

"I just don't like it when there's a touch on the shoulder and their legs don't work, but it's modern football. I'm not saying he does it all the time. But they're strong these lads and how come their legs don't work I don't know.

"I've no clue where five minutes came from. I asked the officials, but it came from somewhere. We just said [to the fourth official] there were no physios on the pitch. It's impossible it could be longer than three. Every minute counts. You just want a reason and there wasn't a reason.

"It's more the mentality it brings. Everyone believes when it's five minutes. 'Fergie time' as they used to call it. You could sense it. Everyone rises. I just don't know where it came from."

United's six league wins in a row under Solskjaer had seen them cut the gap to the top four from 11 points to just three.

It is now at two points after Tuesday's snatched draw, but Chelsea visit Bournemouth on Wednesday and can extend the gap to five:

Some big results at both ends of the table... #PL pic.twitter.com/eIXVvdXWnq

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 29, 2019

It is a blow for United, as they were widely expected to beat Burnley, who are just four points above the relegation zone.

Solskjaer arguably got his tactics slightly wrong. Andreas Pereira was particularly disappointing in his first league start under the Norwegian, and Lingard should arguably have been sent on before the 63-minute mark:

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his decision to start Andreas Pereira after the Brazilian's mistake led to a goal against Burnley pic.twitter.com/FRojingyEE

— GOAL (@goal) January 30, 2019

Sanchez and Fred now warming up. Lingard's warming up again, too. He should be on already. #mufc

— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) January 29, 2019

However, Burnley deserve huge amounts of credit. They were clinical in taking their opportunities in front of goal and defended superbly until the dying minutes.

Joe Hart has joined Burnley on an initial two-year deal. 

The Clarets announced the arrival of the England international on Tuesday:

BREAKING: Burnley Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of England international Joe Hart on an initial two-year deal. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/bkyAuXKlMS

— Burnley FC (P) (@BurnleyOfficial) August 7, 2018

The goalkeeper's transfer has brought an end to his time with Manchester City, whom he joined in 2006, although he has spent the last two seasons on loan with Torino and West Ham United, respectively.

Per Sky Sports News, Burnley have paid in the region of £3.5 million for the 31-year-old.

Although he made 65 appearances for City in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, he did not become the club's undisputed No. 1 until the 2010-11 campaign after returning from a loan spell with Birmingham City.

He then spent six years as the Sky Blues' first-choice stopper, winning two Premier League titles, the League Cup twice and the FA Cup once, as well as the Premier League's Golden Glove award on four occasions.

Hart is leaving with City's best wishes because of his efforts, per ESPN's Jonathan Smith:

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak: "Joe Hart’s contribution to Manchester City cannot be overstated. His 12 years at the club have seen him produce some remarkable performances and heart-stopping saves that will live in the memory for a long time to come."

— Jonathan Smith (@jonnysmiffy) August 7, 2018

The former Shrewsbury Town 'keeper has earned 75 caps for England, though his Three Lions career looks to be coming to an end, if it hasn't already.

Hart made seven appearances for England last year but has not featured under Gareth Southgate in 2018 nor was he selected for the FIFA World Cup.

He appeared to lack confidence during his time with Torino and West Ham, which has significantly affected his form and the number of errors he has made.

OptaJoe offered some insight into his uninspiring spell with the Hammers:

4 - Joe Hart made four errors leading to opposition goals in the 2017-18 Premier League; one more than the entire Burnley squad combined (3). Claret. pic.twitter.com/TSxEwbjIC1

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 7, 2018

Burnley have plenty of competition between the sticks, though, so if Hart fails to perform they'll have plenty of other options to choose from.

Nick Pope is sidelined with a dislocated shoulder, but the club also have Tom Heaton and Anders Lindegaard to call upon.

Hart may yet resurrect his international ambitions if he can get back to his best, but first he must focus on getting his club career back on track and give Clarets boss Sean Dyche a selection headache when Pope is able to return to action.

Burnley player Jack Cork was attacked by a fan invading the pitch as the Premier League side defeated Blackburn Rovers 2-0 in the EFL Cup on Wednesday. 

Jake Polden of the Mirror reported Cork was grabbed around the throat, forcing Ashley Westwood and players from both teams to apprehend the man.

Stewards at Ewood Park eventually removed the fan, but their response was slow, forcing Westwood to come to the aid of his team-mate.

The two sides are derby rivals, and Cork was jubilant as he scored the opener for the visitors. This triggered the incident, but the fan was quickly wrestled to the pitch.

Away fans also set off flares in the stadium and a Burnley supporters' bus was attacked with bricks on its way to the stadium, per Polden.

A pre-season friendly between Premier League outfit Burnley and Bundesliga side Hannover 96 at Turf Moor was abandoned at half-time on Saturday due to crowd trouble.

Burnley's official Twitter account said the game was called off "on police advice." 

BBC Sport reported the trouble started in the Hannover supporters' section during the first half.

Sportsbeat's Andrew Greaves posted footage of the encounter between those in attendance, although it's not clear from the video which group of fans appear to be the instigators:

pic.twitter.com/PmE5ZU1NlT

— Andrew Greaves / @TourDeGreaves 🚴‍♂️ (@AndrewGreaves84) August 5, 2017

BBC Sport also provided images from Turf Moor, where police were called into action to keep the supporters apart in what should have been a friendly fixture:

More on the news that Burnley's friendly at home to Hannover has been abandoned because of crowd trouble.https://t.co/JRgjK5bRAm pic.twitter.com/7Xd4ljaYFc

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 5, 2017

Defender Ben Mee headed Burnley into a 1-0 lead before the break, but the Clarets were prevented from building on his opener by the postponement.

The Burnley Express also outlined how seats at Turf Moor were removed from their holdings and thrown by the visiting fans as they surged towards home supporters.

Greaves later provided an update from the stadium and alleged the situation could have been far more dangerous:

Burnley fans in concourse of Cricket Field Stand say they saw Germans fans with knives.

— Andrew Greaves / @TourDeGreaves 🚴‍♂️ (@AndrewGreaves84) August 5, 2017

Saturday's unfinished match was a disappointing way for Burnley to end an unbeaten pre-season run, not to mention far-from-ideal preparation for their Premier League opener against defending champions Chelsea next Saturday.

Twitter account Football Away Days provided a glimpse at the Hannover fans' fiery march toward Turf Moor:

Hannover 96 fans in Burnley today pic.twitter.com/NbdQKFE2gp

— Football Away Days (@footyawayday) August 5, 2017

Hannover are preparing to make a return to the Bundesliga after gaining promotion last term, and they too will be left disappointed not to complete a valuable 90 minutes in pre-season.