Chelsea won the Women’s World Sevens series in London, beating Manchester United 6-5 in Saturday’s final to claim $500,000 (£372,000) in prize money.
The tournament, hosted at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, featured eight Women’s Super League clubs competing across the third edition of the series.
Running from 28-30 May, the event finished a day before the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley and showcased some of the WSL’s biggest stars.
The seven-a-side format, featuring rolling substitutes, no offsides and 15-minute halves, is designed to encourage creativity and flair from players.
Elaborate walkout entrances proved a highlight, with Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor carried out by her players before being flipped to the ground ahead of the semi-finals.
“I enjoyed it. It came from the players. I’m someone who is usually quiet and I don’t want to get too involved but that was a good opportunity,” said Bompastor.
“We only practised it a little bit in the locker room. I made a joke that the players who didn’t get enough minutes would have the opportunity to drop me!”
Everton striker Katja Snoeijs pretended to give birth during her team’s walkout, with team-mates acting as midwives delivering a football bearing pictures of injured absentees.
Chelsea’s players performed a tenpin bowling routine, defender Ellie Carpenter and midfielder Wieke Kaptein did the worm, and Aston Villa teenager Rachel Maltby delivered a backflip.
On the pitch, Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones produced a rabona assist for Erin Cuthbert, while Manchester United’s Melvine Malard celebrated a goal by pretending to need CPR.
Tottenham boss Martin Ho wore a fluffy blue cowboy hat, while London City Lionesses manager Eder Maestre celebrated with Nikita Parris using a special handshake throughout the competition.
Match officials also joined the fun, pretending to be wheelbarrows, leading a rendition of ‘Sweet Caroline’ and performing a mock penalty shootout before matches kicked off.
The total prize fund of $1.5m (£1.1m) was lower than the $5m (£3.76m) offered at previous events in Estoril and Fort Lauderdale, with organisers citing the smaller scale of an all-England event.
Organisers said they want to “sit comfortably” with established domestic competitions, noting the Women’s FA Cup final gives £430,000 to the winners.
There was concern for West Ham’s Tuva Hansen, who appeared to suffer a serious injury on day two and was carried off on a stretcher.
Leicester City competed despite being relegated to WSL 2 following a play-off defeat to Charlton Athletic just five days before the tournament began.
“It’s new, it’s refreshing. It’s a fantastic end of the season with the conditions, the crowd, and obviously the vibrancy,” said Leicester boss Rick Passmoor.
“It just brings a completely different element, and everybody’s here to enjoy it. The players have been absolutely engrossed with it. We’re so pleased to be part of it.”
