Organizing a football tournament for children under 10

If you're organizing a tournament for young children, your priorities are different from tournaments for older age groups. The goal isn't to crown the best team, it's to create a fun day where every child gets plenty of time on the pitch.

Don't focus too much on results

In most tournaments for children under 10, results and league tables are not the main focus. While the players will certainly remember who won each match, it is uncommon to publish official standings for everyone to follow.

Plan a tournament that matches your capacity

A good tournament system can handle tournaments of any size, but remember that every extra team means more matches, more coordination and more questions.

If only one or two people are running the tournament, keep the schedule manageable.

Expect lots of questions

No matter how well you plan, people will ask questions throughout the day.

Typical questions include:

• Where does our team play next?
• When is our next match?
• Has the schedule changed?

Rather than answering the same question hundreds of times, encourage parents and coaches to use the tournament app or live schedule. The more people use it, the less pressure there is on the tournament office.

Make sure every team gets enough football

For the youngest age groups, three matches of around 15 minutes each is often a good starting point. As the players get older, you can increase the number or duration of matches.

The goal is to find the right balance for the age group. Every child should have enough playing time to enjoy the day, but not so much that the tournament becomes unnecessarily long or exhausting for players, parents and volunteers.

For most children under 10, a great tournament is one where they get to play football, spend time with friends, enjoy an ice cream and receive a medal.