Friends Group
A Friends Group is 4league's lightweight solution for casual players who want to track scores and stats without the overhead of a full competition. Perfect for weekend pickup games, office leagues, or any group of players who play regularly and want to keep things fun and competitive.
A Friends Group is designed for informal, social play. If you need structured fixtures, referees, or multi-round scheduling, use a Competition Profile instead.
Creating a Friends Group
Any user can create a Friends Group directly from the app. The first one is included on every plan — no subscription upgrade is required.
The Free and PRO Player tiers can own exactly one Community / Friends group. Creating a second group requires PRO or Enterprise. A soft cap of 10 organizations (of any type) applies regardless of plan. See Organization Subscription Rules for the full breakdown.
If you create extra groups on PRO and later cancel your subscription, those groups stay fully accessible — you can keep adding members, recording matches, and viewing stats. The PRO requirement only blocks creation of new additional groups.
Open the Groups tab
From the main navigation, tap the Groups icon. This section is accessible from any role.
Tap "Create Group"
Enter a group name, choose a sport (football), and optionally add a group photo or description.
Set group visibility
Choose between Public (anyone can find and request to join) or Private (invite-only via code). Most casual groups use invite-only.
Share the invite code
Once created, the app generates a unique invite code. Share it with your friends via any messaging app.
5 friends create a group called "Weekend Warriors". They play every Saturday and want to track their scores. One friend creates the group, sets it to Private, and shares the 6-character invite code in their WhatsApp group chat. All 5 are members within minutes.
Give your group a memorable name — it appears on all match records and stats for the group. You can rename it later from the group settings.
Group Members
The group creator becomes the admin automatically. Admins can add or remove members, promote other members to admin, and manage the group settings.
Adding Members
There are two ways to add someone to a group:
- Invite code: Share the group's unique code. Anyone who enters it is added instantly (or placed in a pending queue for private groups requiring admin approval).
- Direct invite: Search by username or phone number and send a direct group invite from inside the app.
Removing Members
Admins can remove any member from the group settings screen. Removed members lose access to future matches but their past stats remain in the group's historical records.
The Weekend Warriors group grows from 5 to 15 members over two months. New players are added via the invite code shared in a neighbourhood Facebook group. The group admin reviews pending requests and approves them each Friday evening before the weekend games.
Promote a trusted co-organiser to admin so that group management is not blocked when you are unavailable.
Group Matches
Group matches are the core activity of a Friends Group. Any admin can create a match, split members into two sides, play, and record the final score. All goals scored are attributed to individual players and accumulate across the season.
Creating a Group Match
Tap "New Match" inside the group
Select a date and time for the match. The location field is optional but useful for recurring venues.
Pick your teams
Select players from the group member list and assign them to Team A and Team B. Teams can be named anything — "Bibs" vs "Skins" is a classic.
Play the match
After the game, open the match in the app and enter the final score. You can also add individual goal scorers for detailed stats.
Confirm the result
Tap "Confirm Result". The match is saved, and all goals are credited to the scorers' season tallies.
Every Saturday, the Weekend Warriors create a match, split their 14 players into 2 teams of 7, play a 60-minute game, and record the score. After the match, the admin enters the 3 goals: one for Player A, two for Player B. These immediately update the group's top scorers leaderboard visible to all members.
You can add individual goal scorers during the match using Live Score mode, or retrospectively after the match is finished. Both methods credit goals to the correct season totals.
Group Statistics
4league automatically aggregates statistics across all group matches within a season. Every member can view the group stats at any time — no admin required.
Available Statistics
| Stat | Description |
|---|---|
| Goals | Total goals scored per player across all group matches in the current season. |
| Assists | Credited when a goal scorer is set up by another player on the same team. |
| Appearances | Number of matches a player participated in. |
| Win rate | Percentage of matches won by the team a player was assigned to. |
| Top scorer badge | Displayed on the profile of the group's current leading goal scorer. |
After 20 Saturdays, the Weekend Warriors have played 20 group matches. The group's top scorer has accumulated 35 goals. Every member can open the group stats screen and see a ranked leaderboard showing goals, assists, and appearances. Players take the standings seriously — bragging rights are on the line every week.
Statistics reset when a new season is started. Previous seasons are archived and always available to browse. See Community Seasons for details.
Community Seasons
Seasons give a natural rhythm to a Friends Group. A season has a start date and an end date. All matches and stats belong to the active season. When a season ends, everything is archived and a fresh season can begin.
Starting a Season
Go to Group Settings
Only group admins can manage seasons.
Tap "Start New Season"
Give the season a name (e.g. "2025 Season") and set an optional end date. The season becomes active immediately.
Finishing a Season
Tap "Finish Season"
All current stats are frozen and archived. The app announces the season's top scorer and MVP to all group members.
Browse season archives
Past seasons are always accessible from the group's Seasons tab. Compare stats across years to see how the group has evolved.
At the end of December, the Weekend Warriors admin taps "Finish Season" on the 2024 season. The app sends a notification to all 15 members announcing that Player B won the Golden Boot with 47 goals. In January, a new season called "2025 Season" is started and all stats reset to zero. The competition begins again.
You are not required to use seasons. If your group prefers a single running total across all time, simply never finish a season — all stats accumulate indefinitely.
Finishing a season is permanent. Make sure all match results have been entered before closing a season, as stats are frozen at the moment you confirm.