Kids football tournament schedule
The format that matters for children is the one where everybody plays the same number of games. Groups then a playoff guarantees three; everyone-plays-everyone guarantees more and finishes on a table instead of a final.
- Groups
- 3
- 3 groups of 4
- Matches
- 24
- Group matches plus the playoff they feed.
- Guaranteed matches
- 3
- Before anybody can be knocked out.
- Roughly how long
- 5 h on 2 courts
- Allowing 25 minutes a match, courts running in parallel.
Free, and there is no account to make first. About a minute to the QR code.
Do not run a straight knockout
A knockout sends half the field home after one game, and for a field of eight-year-olds who were driven there by a parent that is the wrong day out. Groups then a playoff guarantees everybody three matches before anybody is knocked out, for about the same amount of pitch time.
If you have the morning for it, everyone-plays-everyone is better still: no elimination at all, the same number of games for every team, and a table at the end.
Parents can follow it on their phones
Every tournament gets a QR code that opens a phone-sized view — the fixtures, the tables, what is on which pitch next. Print it once and pin it to the clubhouse door and nobody has to come and ask when their child plays again.
Common questions
What format guarantees everyone the same number of games?
Everyone-plays-everyone, always. Groups then a playoff guarantees the group games to everybody, then the top teams get more.
Can I run it without keeping score?
You can leave results unentered and use it purely as a schedule and a screen, though the tables will stay empty.