Largest single location professional football (soccer) tournament

The largest single location professional football (soccer) tournament has 24 teams, and was achieved by MLS (USA) at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 10 August 2020.

Major League Soccer restarted its landmark 25th season on 8 July 2020 with 24 MLS clubs competing in the MLS is Back Tournament, at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA. Similar to a FIFA World Cup format, the tournament featured a continuous schedule of matches in the same location, nearly every day, with games beginning at 9 a.m., 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. EST. Each team played three group stage matches, and those results counted in the 2020 MLS regular season standings.

After 16 consecutive days of group stage matches, the top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-place finishers moved onto the knockout stage. The knockout stage included a Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals. The Championship match took place between the Portland Timbers and the Orlando City SC on 11 August 2020. Therefore, the record-setting tournament overall included 24 teams, playing 51 matches, in 35 days.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting the MLS is Back Tournament inside a single-location “bubble”, provided a controlled environment that enabled MLS to protect the health of all the players, coaches and staff.