Pure football: TUI and Socca launch international tournaments in the world's most beautiful holiday destinations with record participation
- 6 against 6, just like on the local football pitch: the world's most popular sport is the booming alternative for fans and players - now TUI is making major international tournaments possible
- Crete in October: four pitches, five match days: the TUI Socca Champions League brings together 106 teams from 40 nations
- Cancún in November: the TUI Socca World Cup with a specially built, reusable TUI pop-up stadium for over 3,000 spectators
- The action continues in early 2026 in countries such as Portugal and Turkey
"Football means passion – only travelling is better. Both connect cultures and bridge differences. Thanks to the collaboration between TUI and the International Socca Federation, hundreds of teams are now playing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans in the most beautiful destinations in the world. Visitors and local fans can attend all tournaments free of charge. Together, we are making possible what really matters to all of us: passion, emotions and the will to win." – TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel.
ISF tournaments are growing rapidly, both in terms of participants and fans, and are broadcast worldwide on television and online. Many teams have firmly established themselves on the scene, including Eintracht Spandau and Sport Club do Recife.
"Socca combines everything that makes sport fun. Fast moves, team play, lots of goals – and now, thanks to TUI, the world's most beautiful holiday destinations are also being added as venues. Whether in Crete, Mexico or Turkey, fans who have travelled to the games will be cheering and celebrating alongside the locals. Because that's what football is all about." – ISF CEO Thanos Papadopoulos
About the tournaments:
The collaboration kicks off on 17 October at the TUI Socca Champions League, the largest and most important club tournament in the world of small-field football. Over five days, 106 teams from more than 40 countries will compete against each other in Rethymno, Crete. And all this against a picturesque backdrop right on the bay. A parallel tournament for the island's schoolchildren will also take place, kicking off at the end of this week on 17 October.
The TUI Socca World Cup 2025 will take place in Cancún, Mexico, starting on 28 November 2025, bringing together 48 nations for the first time in 6-a-side football – the largest tournament of its kind to date. The venue will be a spectacular TUI pop-up stadium right on the coast, offering an impressive backdrop with Caribbean flair. The tournament will be broadcast worldwide on over 70 television channels and accompanied by statistics and highlights via the Socca app. And the World Cup is more than just a tournament: the event is a festival that combines culture, sporting spirit and global togetherness.
Further tournaments for 2026 – including in Turkey and Portugal – are already firmly planned and will be announced shortly. TUI offers its guests in Crete and Cancún transfers to the respective Socca venues via the TUI app. An up-to-date overview of the TUI Socca tournaments is available at soccafederation.com.
About TUI Group
The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its over 33 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 18 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with 125 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.
Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.
