🏆 Competition Profile
A Competition Profile is the central hub for any league, cup, or tournament on 4league. As an organizer, you create and configure the competition, add teams, generate schedules, record results, and manage everything from the first fixture through to the final standings. This guide covers every feature available to organizers — and explains what teams, players, and fans can see along the way.
Only users with the Organizer role can create competitions. If you haven't selected the Organizer role yet, go to your account settings and add it. Fans, players, team managers, and referees can view competition content but cannot create or administer one.
Creating a Competition
Creating a competition takes just a few minutes. Once it exists, you can configure every detail at your own pace — you don't need to set everything up before adding teams or generating a schedule.
Tap Create
From the app home screen, tap the + / Create button in the bottom navigation bar or from the Organizer dashboard.
Select "New Competition"
Choose "New Competition" from the creation menu. (Other options include New Team, New Player Profile, and New Organization.)
Fill in the basic details
Enter the competition name, upload a logo or badge, write a short description, and choose the primary color for the competition's theme in the app.
Choose the competition type
Select from League (round-robin), Cup (knockout), or Group Stage + Playoffs. This determines how the schedule and standings work throughout the season.
Set the match format
Choose the format that will be played: 5v5 (futsal/small-sided), 7v7 (youth or small pitch), or 11v11 (full-size football). This affects squad size limits and lineup screens.
Set the number of teams
Enter how many teams will compete. For knockout formats, powers of two (8, 16, 32) work best. For group stages, ensure the total divides evenly into your intended group size.
Save and configure further
Tap Save. The competition is now live. Continue by adding teams, setting rules, and generating a schedule.
League Format
A league uses a round-robin structure: every team plays every other team at least once. It is the most common format for local football competitions because it rewards consistency over an entire season and every team plays the same number of matches.
| Result | Points awarded |
|---|---|
| Win | 3 points |
| Draw | 1 point each |
| Loss | 0 points |
When generating the schedule you can choose "Home & Away" to make each pair of teams play twice — once at each team's ground. This doubles the number of matches per season.
The "Sunday League" has 10 teams playing 11v11. With a home & away schedule, each team plays 18 matches (9 home, 9 away) for 90 matches total across the season. After all rounds, the team with the most points is champion. If teams are level on points, the tiebreaker rules (goal difference, goals scored) determine the final order.
Cup / Knockout Format
A knockout competition uses a single-elimination bracket: the loser of each match is immediately eliminated, and the winner advances to the next round. This format is ideal for one-off events, company tournaments, or pre-season cups where you want a clear winner in a short time.
4league supports both single elimination (one loss and you're out) and optionally a third-place play-off match. The bracket is generated automatically once you set the number of teams.
A company organizes a Friday futsal tournament with 16 teams. The bracket is automatically generated with 4 rounds: Round of 16 (8 matches) → Quarter-finals (4 matches) → Semi-finals (2 matches) → Final (1 match). All 15 decisive matches are tracked in 4league. Bracket updates live as scores are entered.
By default the bracket is generated in the order teams appear in the competition. If you want to seed teams (e.g. top seeded teams avoid each other until the final), manually reorder teams before generating the bracket.
Group Stage + Playoffs
The most complex format: teams are split into groups that each play a round-robin mini-league. The top teams from each group advance to a knockout playoff bracket. This is the format used in most major international tournaments and is well-suited to larger competitions with 12 or more teams.
Create groups
Define how many groups and how many teams per group. 4league distributes teams into groups automatically, or you can drag-and-drop teams into specific groups manually.
Play the group stage
Each group plays a full round-robin. Group standings are calculated in real time as results are entered.
Configure playoff advancement
Set how many teams advance from each group (e.g. top 2, or top 2 plus best third-placed teams).
Activate the playoff bracket
Once the group stage is complete, tap "Activate Playoffs". The bracket is populated automatically with the qualified teams.
A summer tournament has 24 teams split into 6 groups of 4. Each group plays 6 matches (round-robin). The top 2 from each group advance to form a 12-team playoff bracket. The 12 qualified teams then compete in a knockout bracket, with a third-place play-off and a final, to determine the champion.
Setting Rules & Categories
Competition rules and category settings let you define exactly who can participate and how results are calculated. These settings appear in the competition details and are visible to all participants.
| Setting | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Age group | U12, U15, U18, Senior, Veteran | Shown on the competition badge; used for filtering in search |
| Gender | Male, Female, Mixed | Purely informational — not enforced automatically |
| Skill level | Recreational, Amateur, Semi-Pro | Helps teams find competitions that match their standard |
| Points per win | 1 or 3 (default 3) | Legacy competitions sometimes use 2 points for a win |
| Tiebreakers | Goal difference, Goals scored, Head-to-head | Configure the order in which tiebreakers are applied |
| Custom rules | Free text | Add any specific rules (e.g. "All players must wear shin guards") |
The competition rules and description are shown to every team manager and player who joins. Use this section to communicate key information upfront — fixture deadlines, disciplinary policy, and registration requirements.
Managing Teams
Teams are the core participants in a competition. You can add teams yourself, invite existing team profiles to join, or bulk-import them from a list. Once added, teams can be assigned to groups (in group-stage competitions) and their players become part of the competition's player pool.
Adding Teams
You can add a team directly from the competition's Teams tab. Each team needs at minimum a name — logo and colors can be added or updated later.
Open the Teams tab
Navigate to your competition and tap the "Teams" tab in the bottom navigation.
Tap "Add Team"
Tap the + button or "Add Team" action in the toolbar.
Enter team details
Fill in the team name, upload a badge/logo, select primary and secondary kit colors, and optionally assign the team to a group if you are using a group-stage format.
Save
Tap Save. The team appears immediately in the competition's team list and will be included in the next schedule generation.
The organizer taps "Add Team" and enters the name "FC Lions". They upload a lion badge image, select blue as the primary kit color and white as the secondary, then assign the team to Group A in a 6-group tournament. The team is saved and FC Lions' players can now be added via the team roster screen.
Bulk Import Teams
For larger competitions, adding teams one by one is time-consuming. The bulk import feature lets you add many teams at once by providing a list of team names — the organizer can then update logos and details for each team at their own pace.
For a regional knockout cup with 32 participants, the organizer has a spreadsheet with all team names. Using the bulk import feature, all 32 teams are created in the competition in one step. The organizer then invites each team manager to connect their existing team profile via a join code, and managers add their own logos and player rosters.
After bulk-importing team names, generate and share individual team invite codes. Each team manager enters the code to link their existing 4league team to the competition slot, inheriting their squad and kit details automatically.
Team Invitations & Codes
Instead of (or in addition to) manually adding teams, you can generate a competition join code and share it with team managers. When a manager enters the code in their team's settings, their team is connected to the competition and appears in the team list.
The organizer generates the join code "LEAGUE2024" from the competition settings and shares it in the WhatsApp group with all team managers. Each manager opens their team in 4league, taps "Join a Competition", enters "LEAGUE2024", and their team is immediately added to the competition. The organizer sees all teams appear in real time.
Join codes can be set to expire after a certain date or after a maximum number of uses. This prevents teams joining after registration has closed.
Transfer Players Between Teams
During a season it is sometimes necessary to move a player from one team to another within the same competition — for example, if a player switches clubs mid-season. The organizer can perform this transfer directly from the competition's player management screen.
Player Mihai has been playing for FC Lions but switches to FC Tigers after Round 6. The organizer opens the competition's Players section, finds Mihai in FC Lions' roster, and taps "Transfer to Team". They select FC Tigers as the destination. Mihai's existing stats (6 goals, 2 assists) carry over to his competition record; from Round 7 onwards, his new goals count for FC Tigers.
Check your competition's own regulations before transferring players. Some leagues have rules about how many players can be transferred, or a deadline after which transfers are not permitted. These rules are not enforced automatically in 4league — the organizer is responsible for applying them correctly.
Scheduling Matches
Once teams are added, the next step is building the match schedule. 4league offers both an automatic generator (using the Berger algorithm for round-robin competitions) and a fully manual option for custom formats.
Berger Round-Robin Generator
The Berger algorithm (also known as the circle method) is the standard mathematical method for constructing balanced round-robin schedules. It ensures that:
- Every team plays every other team exactly once per round-robin pass.
- No team plays more than one match in the same round.
- Home and away assignments are distributed as evenly as possible.
To generate a schedule, go to the Schedule tab in your competition and tap "Generate Schedule". Select Berger, choose home & away if desired, set a start date and how many days between rounds, then tap Generate.
With 8 teams, the Berger algorithm creates 7 rounds of 4 simultaneous matches each — 28 matches total for a single round-robin. Selecting "Home & Away" doubles the schedule to 14 rounds and 56 matches. The organizer sets Round 1 to start on the first Sunday in September, with rounds scheduled weekly. 4league fills in all the dates automatically and creates every match in the system.
If your league has an odd number of teams (e.g. 9 teams), the Berger algorithm automatically handles the "bye" — one team sits out each round. The generated schedule will show which team has a bye in each round.
Manual Schedule
For non-standard formats — or when you need precise control over which teams play when — you can create each match manually. Go to the Schedule tab and tap "Add Match" to define each fixture individually.
For each manually created match you specify:
- Home team and Away team
- Date and kick-off time
- Venue / location
- Round number (used to group matches in the calendar view)
- Assigned referee (optional)
For a tournament where the bracket draw is conducted live at an event, the organizer manually creates each match in 4league as soon as pairings are announced. They set specific kick-off times for each pitch, assign referees, and publish the schedule. Teams see their fixtures within seconds of the organizer saving each match.
Match Calendar View
The calendar view presents all scheduled matches on a monthly calendar so organizers, team managers, and fans can see the competition's rhythm at a glance. Matches are shown as events on their scheduled dates. Tapping any match opens the full match details.
A team manager opens the competition calendar in October and sees their team has 3 fixtures that month, highlighted in the team's kit color. They tap the match on October 14 to see the venue, kick-off time, and referee. A fan following the competition sees all matches across all teams and can filter by team or by round using the filter bar above the calendar.
Match Day Operations
On match day, organizers and referees have a range of tools to record what happens on the pitch — from the final score through to individual goals, cards, substitutions, and lineups. All events feed into the competition's live standings and statistics automatically.
Recording Scores
After a match ends, entering the final score is the minimum required action. Once a score is saved the standings update immediately and all connected users see the result.
Open the match
Navigate to the match from the Schedule tab or the calendar. Matches are listed by date, with today's matches at the top.
Enter the score
Tap the score fields and enter the goals for the home team and the away team.
Add goalscorers and assists
For each goal, select the goalscorer from the lineup and optionally the player who provided the assist. This updates the top-scorers and assists leaderboards.
Mark match as finished and save
Tap "Finish Match" to lock the result. Standings, goal difference, and top-scorer tables update automatically in real time.
After the match ends 3-1, the organizer opens the match in 4league, enters 3 for the home team and 1 for the away team. They then add the goalscorers: Andrei (23'), Ion (45+2', assist: Mihai), and Cosmin (78') for the home team, and Radu (61') for the away team. After tapping "Finish Match", the home team gains 3 points and Andrei's tally moves to 5 goals — second in the top-scorer chart.
Live Scoring
Live scoring mode lets a referee or organizer update the score in real time during the match. All users following the competition or the match see goal notifications and score updates as they happen — even if they are not at the ground.
Open the match and tap "Start Match"
This activates live mode. The match status changes from "Scheduled" to "Live" and a live indicator is visible to all viewers.
Add events as they happen
Tap "Goal", "Yellow Card", "Red Card", or "Substitution" for each event. Each one is time-stamped to the match minute.
Tap "End Match" at full time
This finalizes the result, locks the score, and moves the match to "Finished" status. All statistics are committed to the season totals.
Referee Andrei starts the match at 11:00. At 22', he logs a goal for FC Lions — a push notification is sent to all followers. At 34', he adds a yellow card for an FC Tigers player. At half time he logs the 1-0 half-time score. After the final whistle the score is 2-1. He taps "End Match" and the standings update. The 40 people following the competition on their phones saw every event live without being at the ground.
Adding Cards & Events
Match events beyond goals give a complete picture of what happened in each fixture. They feed the disciplinary statistics and the player's individual records.
| Event type | Effect |
|---|---|
| Yellow card | Added to the player's yellow card total for the season. Used in disciplinary stats. |
| Red card (direct) | Added to the player's red card total. Player is typically suspended for the next match. |
| Second yellow / Red | Shown as a yellow+red combination; counted as both one yellow and one red in statistics. |
| Substitution | Records the player coming on and coming off, and the minute. Used in lineup history. |
Player Ion receives a yellow card in the 34th minute. The referee opens the match events panel, taps "Yellow Card", selects Ion from the team roster, and enters "34" as the minute. The yellow card is immediately shown on Ion's player profile, and the team's disciplinary total increases by one. If the organizer has configured automatic suspension rules (e.g. 3 yellows = 1-match ban), Ion's suspension status updates accordingly.
Setting Lineups
The lineup feature lets team managers (or the organizer) set the starting eleven and substitutes before a match begins. Lineups are visible to all competition followers once published.
Open the match's Lineup tab
This is accessible before the match starts. Each team has its own lineup panel.
Choose a formation
Select from standard formations (4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1, etc.). The pitch graphic updates to show the positions.
Assign players to positions
Drag players from the squad list onto their position on the pitch graphic. Tap a player to designate them as captain.
Add substitutes
Select up to the allowed number of substitutes from the remaining squad. In 11v11 format, leagues typically allow 3 substitutes; smaller formats may allow rolling substitutes.
Save and publish
Tap "Save Lineup" to lock it in. Once both teams have submitted their lineups, they become visible to all followers.
Before the Saturday match, the team manager opens the lineup screen and selects the 4-3-3 formation. He drags the goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders, and 3 forwards into their positions, then taps the central midfielder Mihai to designate him as captain. He adds 3 substitutes. He saves the lineup — it appears on the match page and fans following the competition can see the starting XI before kick-off.
Man of the Match
After a match is finished, the organizer can designate a Man of the Match award. This is displayed on the match result page and on the player's profile as a personal achievement.
After FC Lions win 2-0 and the opposition had several clear chances, the organizer selects the goalkeeper Vlad as Man of the Match. Vlad made 8 saves during the game. The award appears on the match page alongside the scoreline, and Vlad's player profile shows "Man of the Match x3" for the season — his third such award.
Standings & Tables
The league table is the live, automatically updated standings for all teams in the competition. It recalculates every time a match result is entered. Every user — organizers, team managers, players, and fans — can view the standings at any time from the competition's Standings tab.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Lions | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 15 |
| 2 | FC Tigers | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 13 |
| 3 | Sporting Club | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 7 |
| 4 | City United | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 0 |
Column key: P = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Difference, Pts = Points.
When two or more teams are level on points, the default tiebreaker order is: (1) Goal Difference, (2) Goals Scored, (3) Head-to-Head result. The organizer can change the tiebreaker order in Competition Settings to match the competition's official rules.
Statistics & Top Scorers
The Statistics tab of a competition shows competition-wide leaderboards, updated after every match result is saved.
Ranked list of all players by goals scored in the current season. Shows player name, team, matches played, and total goals.
Ranked list of players by assists provided. An assist is recorded when a player's pass directly leads to a goal.
Yellow and red cards per player and per team. Useful for monitoring disciplinary trends across the season.
Recent results for each team shown as a form guide (e.g. W W D L W) — visible in the standings view alongside the table.
After Round 5 is complete, the organizer opens the Statistics tab. The top scorer has 7 goals in 5 matches. Tapping his name opens his player profile, which shows a match-by-match breakdown: 2 goals vs FC Tigers (Round 1), 1 vs Sporting Club (Round 3), 2 vs City United (Round 4), 1 own goal (not credited), 2 vs FC Lions (Round 5). Below the goals list, the assists tab shows a different player leads with 6 assists from midfield.
Top scorer and assist leaderboards only populate when you enter goalscorer and assist information alongside the match score. If you record only the final score without individual events, the goals count toward the team total but not toward individual player tallies.
Playoffs & Promotion/Relegation
4league supports two common end-of-season mechanics: a playoff phase to determine the ultimate winner after a round-robin stage, and promotion/relegation rules that move teams between divisions when the organizer manages multiple tiers.
Activating Playoffs
Complete the regular season
Ensure all regular-season matches have final scores entered. Check the standings are correct.
Open the Playoffs configuration
Go to Competition Settings > Season > Activate Playoffs. Specify which teams qualify (e.g. top 4, top 8) and the playoff bracket structure.
Generate the bracket
4league seeds the playoff bracket automatically based on league standings — 1st plays 4th, 2nd plays 3rd, and so on.
Schedule and play playoff matches
Add dates and venues for each playoff round and record results as normal. The bracket advances automatically as matches are completed.
Configuring Promotion & Relegation
If you manage a multi-division structure (e.g. Division 1 and Division 2 within the same organization), you can configure promotion and relegation rules so that teams move between divisions automatically at season end.
An organization runs a Division 1 and a Division 2, each with 10 teams. The organizer configures: top 2 teams from Division 2 are promoted to Division 1 at season end; bottom 2 teams from Division 1 are relegated to Division 2. When both seasons are finished and marked as complete, 4league automatically moves the relevant teams and the new season can begin with the correct team assignments.
Automatic promotion and relegation between competitions is managed at the Organization level. See the Organization Profile guide for full details on setting up multi-division structures.
Player of the Round Voting
After each round of fixtures, organizers can open a public vote for the best player of that round. All competition followers — including fans, players, and team managers — can cast a vote. The player with the most votes wins the award for that round.
Open voting for a round
Navigate to the Competition's Awards section. Tap "Open Voting" for the round you want to award. You can add any players who played in that round as candidates, or let the system add all players who appeared in a match automatically.
Members cast votes
A notification is sent to all competition followers. Each user can vote for one player. Votes are counted in real time and a live leaderboard is visible to the organizer.
Close voting and announce the winner
Tap "Close Voting" to stop accepting votes. The player with the most votes is announced. The organizer can override the result and select a different player if desired.
After Round 3, the organizer opens voting. Over the next 48 hours, 45 people vote. A central midfielder who scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist in Round 3 wins with 27 votes (60%). Second place is a goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet with 12 votes (27%). The organizer closes voting and confirms the midfielder as Player of Round 3. The award appears on his player profile alongside the season's other award winners.
News & Announcements
The News tab on a competition profile is the official communication channel between the organizer and all competition members. Posts appear in the competition's news feed and, for important announcements, push notifications are sent to all followers.
Publishing a news post
Open the News tab
Navigate to your competition and tap "News". Tap the compose button to write a new post.
Write the announcement
Enter a title and body text. Optionally attach an image (e.g. a match photo, updated schedule, or rule document).
Publish
Tap Publish. The post is visible immediately to everyone following the competition and a push notification is sent to all followers.
Heavy rain is forecast for Saturday. The organizer writes: "Round 5 postponed due to adverse weather conditions. New dates will be announced by Wednesday. We apologize for the inconvenience." The post is published and within seconds all 60 followers of the competition receive a push notification on their phones. Team managers see the announcement when they open the app.
Approving Player Registration Requests
If the competition is configured to require organizer approval before players are registered, pending requests appear in the News / Requests section. The organizer can approve or reject each request, optionally adding a reason for rejection.
The News feed is the best place to communicate registration deadlines, venue changes, disciplinary decisions, and end-of-season awards. Pinned posts stay at the top of the news feed so critical information is always visible.
Managing Staff & Referees
Referees assigned to a competition can record live match events and enter final scores directly in the app. The organizer adds referees to the competition using a code system, then assigns specific referees to specific matches.
Add referees to the competition
Go to Competition Settings > Staff > Add Referee. The organizer generates a unique invite code for each referee.
Share codes with referees
Send each referee their personal code. The referee opens 4league, navigates to their Referee role settings, and enters the code to connect to the competition.
Assign referees to matches
Open any scheduled match and tap "Assign Referee". Select from the list of referees connected to the competition.
Referee operates on match day
On the day of the match, the assigned referee sees the match in their Referee dashboard. They can start the match, record events, and finish the match — all from their own phone.
The organizer generates 4 unique codes from the Staff section and sends each code to one of their referees via WhatsApp. Referee Ion enters his code and is now linked to the competition. The organizer assigns Ion to 3 matches in the upcoming round. Ion sees all 3 matches in his Referee tab and can manage each fixture independently on the day.
Referees can record match events, start and end matches, and enter scores for their assigned matches. They cannot modify competition settings, add/remove teams, or access financial data. For matches not assigned to them, referees have standard read-only fan-level access.
Season Management
4league supports multi-season competitions. Each season is a distinct instance of the competition with its own schedule, results, and statistics. Previous seasons are archived and can be browsed by anyone.
Finishing a Season
When all matches have been played and results are final, the organizer marks the season as complete. This archives all results, locks the statistics, and triggers any configured end-of-season actions such as promotion/relegation and awards.
Verify all results
Confirm that all matches have a final score. Matches still in "Scheduled" status will appear as warnings before you can finish the season.
Distribute awards
Optionally award end-of-season prizes: Champion, Golden Boot (top scorer), Best Goalkeeper, etc. These appear on recipients' player and team profiles permanently.
Tap "Finish Season"
Found in Competition Settings > Season. Confirm the action. All results are archived, the competition is marked as "Completed — Season [Year]", and promotion/relegation rules execute automatically.
All 18 rounds are complete. The organizer checks that all 90 matches have scores, awards the Golden Boot to the top scorer (14 goals), and the Champion badge to FC Lions. Tapping "Finish Season" archives the season. FC Lions players find a "2024-2025 League Champions" trophy on their team profile. The competition is now ready to restart for 2025-2026.
Restarting a Season
Restarting a season creates a fresh season within the same competition — retaining the teams (and optionally their rosters) but resetting all scores, statistics, and standings to zero. This avoids having to recreate the competition from scratch each year.
The current season 2024-2025 is finished. The organizer taps "Restart Season" and enters the new season name "2025-2026". All 10 teams carry over to the new season. All match scores, goal tallies, card counts, and standings reset to zero. The organizer generates a new schedule using the Berger algorithm and the new season begins. Previous season results remain accessible in the Season Archives tab.
Before restarting a season, check whether any teams have changed their squad. Players who have left a team should be removed first so that the new season's roster reflects reality. New players joining a team can be added after the season restarts.
Season Archives
Every completed season is permanently archived and accessible to all users. The archives preserve the final standings, top scorers, match results, awards, and all individual player statistics from that season.
A fan who joined the Sunday League in 2025 wants to see how the league looked in its first year. They open the competition, tap the season selector at the top of the page, and choose "2023-2024". All standings, match results, top scorers, and news posts from that season are visible exactly as they were at the time. The current 2024-2025 season is unaffected.
Competition Settings
The settings panel is where you manage every aspect of the competition's configuration. Access it from the competition's main screen by tapping the gear icon or the "Settings" option in the organizer menu.
| Settings section | What you can configure |
|---|---|
| General | Competition name, badge/logo, description, cover photo, primary color |
| Format & Rules | Match format (5v5 / 7v7 / 11v11), points per win, tiebreaker order, custom rules text |
| Category | Age group, gender, skill level |
| Venues | Add, edit, or remove venues/pitches. Set default venue for the competition. |
| Season | Current season name, start date, finish season, restart season |
| Staff & Referees | Add/remove referees, generate invite codes, manage staff roles |
| Connected Leagues | Link to a parent organization, configure promotion/relegation with sister competitions |
| Privacy & Visibility | Public (anyone can follow) or Private (invite-only to view) |
Changing the competition type (e.g. from League to Cup) after matches have been played will invalidate the existing schedule and standings. It is strongly recommended to configure the format before adding teams or generating the first schedule.
Adding your pitches as saved venues means you can assign a location to every match in seconds — just tap the venue name from the dropdown rather than typing an address each time. Venues with GPS coordinates also appear on a map in the match details screen, making it easy for players and fans to get directions.
Related Guides
Deep dive into match lifecycle, live mode, score entry, events, and dispute resolution.
How points are calculated, tiebreaker logic, and how individual statistics are compiled.
How team managers connect their team to a competition, manage rosters, and set lineups.
Full breakdown of what the Organizer role can see and do across competitions and organizations.