Football Club Tournament Software
Eight clubs, two pitches and 16 matches between the warm-up and the medals
A one-day tournament for eight clubs fits on two pitches: two groups of four, then semi-finals, a third-place match and a final, 16 matches in all. With halves of 12 minutes and a 30-minute slot, play takes about four and a half hours including a lunch break. Most arguments on the day come from two cases: a group where three clubs finish level on points, and a knockout match that ends in a draw. Put the rule for each case into the invitation before the draw.
The tournament day, slot by slot
08:15: goals and corner flags go up on pitch 1 and pitch 2. Each coach hands a team sheet to the desk.
09:00: group A plays its first two matches side by side, one on each pitch.
09:30: group B's first round. Alternating the groups this way gives every club half an hour off between its matches.
12:00: the sixth slot ends and the group stage is complete with 12 matches. Lunch for the players, a final check of both tables at the desk.
12:30: semi-finals. The winner of group A meets the runner-up of group B, and the winner of B meets the runner-up of A.
13:15: the third-place match on pitch 2 and the final on pitch 1.
13:50: medals and a trophy for the top scorer. Tables, bracket and scorers are already on the public page, so nobody is adding up score sheets.
16 matches, 3 points for a win, and the three-way tie
Two groups of four play 4 × 3 / 2 = 6 matches each, 12 in total. Two semi-finals, the third-place match and the final add 4, which makes 16. Every club plays three group matches; the four semi-finalists play five.
A win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 and a defeat 0. After three matches a club can have 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9 points. Eight is impossible.
Clubs level on points are separated by a mini-table of the matches among them: points, then goal difference, then goals scored. Overall goal difference and total goals come only after that.
The case that ends up at the desk is a three-way tie. Say A, B and C all beat D, A beat B 1-0, B beat C 2-1 and C beat A 1-0. All three have 6 points and 3 head-to-head points, and each has a head-to-head goal difference of 0. A scored once in those matches, B and C twice, so A is third. The mini-table then runs again for B and C alone, and B's 2-1 win puts B first.
If every criterion is equal, the rules need a last step. A penalty shoot-out between the clubs or a draw of lots at the desk both work, as long as the coaches read it before the first kick-off.
Short halves, level knockout matches and what the scoreboard records
The Laws of the Game (IFAB, 2026/27) set two halves of 45 minutes. Shorter halves are allowed when the referee and both teams agree before kick-off and the competition rules permit it (Law 7). For youth and grassroots football, national associations may also change the size of the pitch, the number of players and allow return substitutes. This page plans with halves of 12 minutes.
A group match can end in a draw. A knockout match needs a winner. Law 10 allows extra time of two equal periods of no more than 15 minutes each, then penalties: five kicks per team, taken alternately, then one kick each until one team has scored more from the same number of kicks. Extra time in a semi-final pushes the final back, so state in the invitation whether a level match goes straight to penalties.
The football scoreboard counts goals, yellow and red cards, and turns a second yellow into a red automatically. Penalties have their own panel with scored and missed buttons for each side, and it tells the operator when the series is decided. Substitutions and temporary dismissals (sin bins) are not recorded. If your youth rules use timed suspensions, keep the time on a phone.
Setting the tournament up in JudgeMate
Start from the football event creator. Football runs as a club tournament: each side of a match is a club, and players need no accounts.
- Add a category in the Groups + knockout format: two groups, two clubs through from each, the third-place match switched on.
- Under Who enters the teams, pick I enter them myself. In the Teams tab you can paste all eight club names at once, one per line. The squad list is optional: a football squad holds 23 players by default and the limit can go up to 30. Pick A team manager enters the team if each coach should register their own squad.
- Set Period length to 12 and Number of periods to 2 for the whole draw. A scoreboard started from a match picks up that format.
- Add two pitches with a start time, a Slot length of 30 minutes and, if you want a guaranteed break, a Team rest time. Auto-schedule spreads the matches over both pitches and never books a club on two pitches at once.
- Print the match slips. They come two to an A4 page with the result left blank for the referee's pen.
On the day, start a scoreboard from the match on each pitch. The Referee QR links card then shows a code for each of those matches, which you can print or hand out; scanning it opens that match's scoreboard. Assign every goal to a name or a shirt number and the top-scorer list fills itself. After the final whistle you confirm the result with Confirm from boards, and the group table, the bracket and the public page update. You close the group stage yourself: while a tie decides who goes through (e.g. 2nd vs 3rd), the button asks you to settle it first. Venue TV in the share menu puts who is playing now and next on each pitch on a clubhouse screen.
What the app leaves to you
- Money. Entry fees can be marked as paid, waived or unmarked next to each club. Nothing is collected online.
- Messages. There are no email, SMS or push notifications about kick-off times. Post the public event link in the coaches' group chat or pin the printed schedule by the dressing rooms.
- Line-ups and substitutions. The squad is a list of names. The scoreboard does not record substitutions or sin bins.
- Tie-break order. In a tournament table the head-to-head mini-table always comes first. A JudgeMate league can put goal difference first; a tournament cannot, so if your rules say otherwise, a two-club tie may come out the other way.
- Festivals for the youngest. In Germany the DFB has required new match formats from U 6 to U 11 (G-, F- and E-Jugend) since 2024/25. In G- and F-Jugend the winners move up a pitch after each round, and results are not kept beyond the matchday. JudgeMate has no rotation mode for teams. This page fits age groups that play for a table.
The free bracket generator draws and prints a knockout or round robin with football as the sport and no account. Groups feeding a knockout, pitches, scoreboards and the scorers list need the full event.
Set up your event
Free for organizers. No athlete cap. No commission on registrations. See football features · Organizer guide