How do you organise a football tournament?

Start with two numbers: how many clubs have said yes and how many pitches you have for how many hours. A pitch holds one match at a time, so the match count decides whether the day ends at lunch or after dark.

The round robin formula is n(n−1)/2. Up to six teams it is the fairest option and still fits a day on two pitches. At eight it costs 28 matches, against 16 for two groups of four with semi-finals.

Two groups of four give every club at least three matches and leave a proper final: 2 x 6 group matches, two semi-finals, the third-place match and the final make 16. A straight knockout is quicker but sends half the clubs home after one game, which parents who drove an hour rarely forgive.

With twelve teams, three groups of four produce six group winners and runners-up. Adding the two best third-placed teams makes eight for the quarter-finals.

The Laws set the ceiling. IFAB Law 7.1 says a match lasts two equal halves of 45 minutes, which may only be reduced if agreed between the referee and both teams before kick-off and if the competition rules allow it. Half-time may not exceed 15 minutes (Law 7.2). So the short halves of a tournament day belong in the tournament rules you send out with the invitation.

For youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football the Laws let national associations modify pitch size, ball size, the length of the halves, the number of players and return substitutes.

A regional association shows what that looks like in practice. In the 2026/27 rules of the Kujawsko-Pomorski FA in Poland, U-10/U-11 tournaments play 2 x 20 minutes with three teams, 2 x 15 with four and 2 x 12 with five. U-8/U-9 tournaments play 2 x 15, 2 x 12 and 2 x 10. In these tournament categories there is no extra time and a level knockout match goes straight to penalties.

German children's football works differently. Since 2024/25 the DFB forms of play are compulsory: the youngest age groups play small-sided games such as 3v3 on several mini pitches, teams rotate between pitches and results are not carried beyond the day. That is a festival without a table, and JudgeMate does not run it. The club tournament in JudgeMate offers round robin, knockout and groups plus knockout.

JudgeMate counts three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat by default. Write your points scheme into the rules anyway. The real argument starts when two clubs finish level on points.

Regulations follow one of two families. The Premier League ranks by points, then goal difference, then goals scored, and uses head-to-head only after that. UEFA's regulations for the Women's EURO final tournament (2023–25 edition, Article 30) do the opposite. Teams level on points are compared first on points, then goal difference, then goals scored in the matches between them. Pick one family and print it.

In a group where everyone plays everyone once, head-to-head between two teams is a single match. If that ended in a draw, the next criterion decides, and with three teams level a mini-table of their matches is the only fair answer.

A team that does not turn up loses by forfeit. FIFA's disciplinary bodies record such a match as 3-0, and a tournament can adopt that or set its own score.

Cards need a line too. Decide whether a red card costs the next match and whether yellow cards add up to a ban over the day. Youth rules may go further: the same Polish annex uses 2-minute timed exclusions in some youth categories and no sanctions at all for the youngest.

Put the schedule on paper at the entrance and print one match slip per game. A referee who knows which match is next and where the result goes keeps the day on time.

In JudgeMate the referee QR code belongs to a match's scoreboard. You start scoreboards match by match, and starting one marks that match as live. The referee scans its code at the pitch and keeps the score where the game is played. The result goes into the group table once you confirm it from the scoreboard.

If you want a live score, run one live scoreboard per pitch on a phone: running clock, goals, yellow and red cards, added time and a penalty shoot-out. Spectators follow it by QR code. The board does not record substitutions or timed exclusions, so keep those on the referee's card if your youth rules use them.

A TV in the clubhouse can show the event's results screen. Tables and the bracket refresh after every confirmed result, which saves you from answering "are we through?" forty times.

1. Open Create with football selected and create the event. A football category runs as a club tournament: each side is a club entered by name, with a squad of up to 30.
2. Choose who enters the clubs: you, each team manager, or the players themselves.
3. Pick the format: round robin, knockout, or groups plus knockout with 1 to 4 groups, 1, 2, 4 or 8 going through from each group (4 and 8 with a single group), plus 0, 1 or 2 best teams from the next place. Add a third-place match or a consolation round if you want one.
4. For a cup played over weeks, switch on two legs: the aggregate decides, a level aggregate goes to penalties and away goals do not count.
5. Add your pitches as resources, set the start time and the slot length, and let the auto-schedule spread the matches and flag clashes. It only places matches that have not been played, so schedule before the first result.
6. In the draw settings, check the walkover score (3-0 by default) and switch on card suspensions if you want them: a ban after 2 to 5 yellows, 1 to 3 matches for a red, optionally reset between the group stage and the knockout.
7. Print the match slips and the bracket. The sheet of referee QR codes lists the matches whose scoreboard you have started.

What JudgeMate does not do: take entry fees (it records who has paid), send notifications, run DFB-style festivals or connect to federation systems. Without an account you can still draw a bracket in the bracket generator or build a fixture list in the schedule maker.

If you have run a padel night before, expect differences. Sides are clubs with squads, there is no americano or court rotation, and a tie on points in a JudgeMate group goes to head-to-head first, then goal difference. For the match rules themselves, see how football scoring works and the football referee guide.