Tournoi Facile ·
Organizing a tournament on a single field is simple. But as soon as you move to 2 or 3 fields running simultaneously, the complexity of scheduling skyrockets. Which team plays where, at what time, and how can you ensure that no team is scheduled to be on two fields at the same time? Here’s the method for error-free scheduling, even with 4 fields and 20 teams.
Calculate the number of games and the total duration
Before scheduling any matches on a field, you need to know the total number of games. A group of 4 teams results in 6 matches. Two groups of 4: 12 group-stage matches, plus 2 semifinals and 1 final—for a total of 15 matches. Four groups of 4: 24 group matches, plus 4 quarterfinals, 2 semifinals, and 1 final—for a total of 31 matches. Each match occupies a time slot: playing time plus a transition break (allow 5 minutes between each match for team changes).
With games lasting 2x8 minutes (16 minutes of play + 5 minutes of transition = 21 minutes per time slot), one court can accommodate about 3 games per hour. Two courts: 6 matches per hour. Over 6 hours of competition, that amounts to 36 available time slots. More than enough for 15 matches, but just enough for 31. These calculations must be done before confirming the number of teams, not after.
Scheduling matches on the fields
The basic rule: a team cannot play two games at the same time. It seems obvious, but when you’re scheduling 24 group-stage games across 3 fields, scheduling conflicts can happen quickly. The manual method involves listing all the matches in a group, then scheduling them one by one, checking each time to make sure that no team involved is already playing on another field during that same time slot.
Rule #2: Balance the workload across the fields. If Field 1 has 20 games and Field 2 has 5, you’ll end up with a long line on one side and an empty field on the other. Distribute the matches from each group across the various available fields rather than assigning an entire group to a single field.
Ensuring Adequate Rest Time Between Matches
An amateur player cannot play two 16-minute matches in a row without a break. Allow at least 20 minutes (i.e., one time slot) of rest between two matches played by the same team. Ideally, aim for 30 to 40 minutes, especially in hot weather. This rest period is not a luxury—it’s a matter of safety and the quality of play. Exhausted players are more prone to injury and perform worse, which detracts from the spectacle.
To ensure this rest period in a multi-field schedule, each team must be checked individually. A team playing at 10:00 a.m. on Field 1 should not have its next game until at least 10:20 a.m., on any field. This constraint is the most difficult to manage manually once there are more than 8 teams and 2 fields.
The Pitfall of Excel Scheduling
Many organizers start out with a spreadsheet. It works for four teams and one field. But as soon as things get more complicated, the Excel file becomes a nightmare to maintain. A single change—a team withdrawing, a field becoming unavailable, or a game rescheduled due to an injury—forces you to recalculate everything in a chain reaction. And errors go unnoticed until two teams show up at the same field at the same time slot.
The real problem with spreadsheets is that they don’t check anything. It doesn’t warn you if a team has two consecutive games, or if a field is overbooked. It doesn’t automatically generate the knockout rounds. And it doesn’t update in real time when a score is entered. It’s a static tool for a dynamic problem.
Drag-and-drop: visually plan your schedule
The most intuitive way to plan a multi-field tournament is with a visual schedule. Each field is a column, each row is a time slot, and each game is a block that you can move using drag-and-drop. At a glance, you can see the distribution of games, gaps in the schedule, and potential conflicts.
A good scheduling tool automatically checks for constraints: no double-booked schedules for a team, compliance with minimum rest periods, and balanced usage of fields. When you reschedule a game, the system alerts you if the change creates a conflict. The result: a clean, error-free schedule that you can publish directly on the tournament page.
Tournoi Facile’s drag-and-drop schedule lets you plan your games across multiple fields without any overlap. Try it for free.