How to run a grassroots tournament

A good tournament is one of the best days in a grassroots season – and one of the busiest for the organisers. This checklist covers the paperwork, the format, the schedule and the day itself. It's written for football, with notes for rugby; the same steps work for most pitch sports.

1. Get it sanctioned

Tournaments involving affiliated teams must be sanctioned by the County FA through the FA Competition Portal. You'll need safeguarding declarations, a risk assessment and competition rules (The FA: tournaments sanctioning). Start early – weeks, not days, before invitations go out. Other sports have their own sanctioning routes; ask your governing body.

2. Choose a format

• Groups, then knockout: everyone gets several games, and a cup and plate keep more teams involved after the groups.
• Round robin: everyone plays everyone – good for small numbers and festivals.
• Knockout only: quick, but half the teams go home after one game. Rarely kind for young players.

3. Build the schedule

• Count your pitches, set a match length and the gap between matches, and add breaks.
• No team should play two matches at once, and back-to-back games should be avoided where possible.
• Check the day's total minutes for each age group. The FA Handbook 2026-27 sets a daily maximum per player – for example 60 minutes at U7–U9, 90 at U10–U11 and 120 at U12–U13.

For rugby in England, RFU Regulation 15 sets maximum minutes per half and per day, and every player in a match-day squad must play at least half the available time:

4. Results for younger age groups

For U7–U11 football, results and tables can't be published (FA Rule 21(D)). The exception is a trophy event: U8–U11 teams can take part in up to three a season, whose results may be published, while U7 has none (FA Handbook). If your tournament isn't one of a team's trophy events, show fixtures but not scores or tables. Read the full guide.

5. Entry fees

• Ask for entry fees by bank transfer, with a separate reference for each team, so payments are easy to match.
• Send each team its payment details privately. Never put bank details on a public page or poster.
• Keep a simple paid / unpaid / waived list, and remind only the teams that haven't paid.

6. Filming and photos on the day

The FA's filming guidance (Guidance Note 8.3) asks organisers to tell participants and parents in advance when general event footage will be taken, to brief any photographers, and to follow venue rules. If some children mustn't be filmed close up, make sure photographers can tell who they are. Filming youth matches covers this in more detail.

7. On the day

• Name a designated safeguarding lead for the event, and tell every team who it is.
• Give each pitch a scorer, and make sure mistakes can be corrected.
• Put the schedule and scores where families can see them – on their phones and on a screen in the clubhouse.
• Have a plan for bad weather and for a team that doesn't turn up.

How Squono helps

Squono tournaments are free, with no limit on teams. It builds the schedule across your pitches, scorers enter and correct results from a link and PIN, and families follow with a code or QR code without an account. Entry fees are paid by bank transfer, each team with its own reference, and bank details never appear on the public page. For U7–U11, the public view shows fixtures but not results. See free tournament software.