Search for a handbook template and you mostly get cover designs. The cover is the easy part. What actually matters is which sections belong in it and what goes in each field, because the gaps only show up when something has already gone wrong. Below is the whole skeleton, eight sections, with the parts people forget marked.
Short version: sections 4, 5 and 7 — fixtures, brackets and the results grid — can be generated rather than typed. Put your teams, pitches and days into the planner and it produces them with kick-off times and pitch numbers already on. The rest of this page is the parts you do have to write yourself.
The first thing teams and officials look at. Everything identifiable at a glance.
| Full tournament name | Write it out in full, not an abbreviation |
| Organiser and host club | Include the sanctioning county FA if affiliated |
| Dates and venue | Start and end dates, venue name and postcode |
| Version and date issued | Bump the version on every change; the latest one governs on the day |
The only part with any standing when something is disputed. Every argument after the whistle comes back to this page.
| Eligibility | Age groups and cut-off date, registration or affiliation requirements, squad size limits, rules on guest players |
| Match format | Number per side, half length, interval, rolling substitutions or not |
| Competition format | Round robin, groups into knockouts, or tiered. State how teams progress |
| Points and ranking | 3 for a win, 1 for a draw. List the tie-breaks in full |
| Awards | How many places are recognised, what they receive, any individual awards |
| Withdrawals and appeals | What a walkover scores, appeal window and who hears it |
Tie-breaks are the single most common omission. The usual English order is goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head, then a play-off or drawing of lots. Some competitions put head-to-head first — both are legitimate, but if it is not written down before kick-off you will be arguing about it afterwards.
Used to check identity on the day, and kept as the record afterwards.
| Team name | Club name plus age group and tier, e.g. Northside U12 Blues |
| Team manager, coach, first aider | With mobile numbers — you will need to find people on the day |
| Player list | Shirt number, name, date of birth. Numbers must match the shirts |
| Kit colours (home and away) | Decide in advance who changes on a clash and write it in the rules |
The most-used page in the whole document. Everyone on site turns to it.
| Match number | Numbered continuously across the tournament. Calling “match 17 to pitch 2” is far quicker than reading out team names |
| Date and kick-off time | To the minute |
| Pitch | Always state the pitch number when there is more than one |
| Teams | Club names in the group stage, placeholders like “Winner Group A” in the knockouts |
| Referee | Name if appointed, otherwise how many are needed |
Three hard constraints when drawing the schedule: a side cannot play back-to-back (at least 60 minutes rest for youth football), one pitch holds one match at a time, and there is a cap on matches per team per day.
So a team can see at a glance who they play and where a win takes them.
| Group allocations | Group A, Group B and so on, with seeds marked |
| Round robin fixture grid | Which teams meet in each round |
| Knockout bracket | Seeding and byes shown, and how many qualify from each group |
The operational detail beyond the competition rules. Cuts down on arguments at pitchside.
| Laws applied | The current FA Laws of the Game, plus any competition-specific variations |
| Format by age group | FA youth football: U7–U8 play 5v5, U9–U10 play 7v7, U11–U12 play 9v9, U13 upwards 11v11. Pitch sizes, goal sizes and ball sizes follow the same steps |
| Deciding a drawn knockout tie | Youth tournaments normally go straight to penalties rather than extra time, with the spot moved in for younger ages |
| Discipline | Suspension on accumulated cautions, matches missed for a dismissal, who sits on the discipline panel |
Do not copy age-group formats from another country. The FA steps (5v5 / 7v7 / 9v9 / 11v11) differ from those used elsewhere, and printing the wrong pitch or ball size means the wrong equipment turns up.
The primary record. Every standing and every piece of post-event paperwork depends on these.
| Blank scorecard | One per match: match number, both teams, score, scorers, cards |
| Signature lines | Both team managers and the referee sign on the pitch. Signed is final |
| League table grid | Played, won, drawn, lost, for, against, goal difference, points |
Print the cards before the tournament starts and put one named person in charge of collecting them. Discovering halfway through that the first round of scores was never written down means the table cannot be produced at all.
In England this is not optional paperwork. It is how you evidence that the duty of care was actually planned for.
| Organising committee | Tournament lead, competition secretary, referee appointments, logistics |
| Designated safeguarding officer | Named person, contact number, and where they will be based on the day. Anyone in a regulated role needs a current DBS check |
| Referees | Name, level and contact number for each appointment |
| First aid and emergency plan | Qualified first aiders and where they are stationed, nearest A&E, access route for an ambulance, emergency contact numbers |
| Site plan | Pitch numbers, registration desk, first aid point, toilets, parking |
Photography and filming policy belongs here too. Many clubs require written consent before children are photographed, and the tournament should state its position rather than leaving it to individual parents to challenge on the day.
The fixtures below are not a mock-up. They are computed for 8 teams, U10, 3 pitches over 2 days — the same output you get from your own inputs. Placeholder names (A1 / A2) are replaced once you enter real ones.
| # | Time | Pitch | Fixture | Stage | Officials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day 1 09:00–09:55 | Pitch 1 | A1 vs A2 | A组 第1轮 | 1 |
| 2 | Day 1 09:00–09:55 | Pitch 2 | A3 vs A4 | A组 第1轮 | 1 |
| 3 | Day 1 09:00–09:55 | Pitch 3 | B1 vs B2 | B组 第1轮 | 1 |
| 4 | Day 1 10:05–11:00 | Pitch 3 | B3 vs B4 | B组 第1轮 | 1 |
| 5 | Day 1 10:55–11:50 | Pitch 1 | A1 vs A3 | A组 第2轮 | 1 |
| 6 | Day 1 10:55–11:50 | Pitch 2 | A4 vs A2 | A组 第2轮 | 1 |
| 7 | Day 1 12:00–12:55 | Pitch 3 | B1 vs B3 | B组 第2轮 | 1 |
| 8 | Day 1 12:50–13:45 | Pitch 1 | A1 vs A4 | A组 第3轮 | 1 |
First 8 fixtures of day 1 (20 in total)
Computed for you
Available as soon as you enter teams, pitches and days
Only you know this
The generator has fields for these; fill them in and they print into the handbook
In short: the parts that can be computed are computed, and what is left is the information only an organiser holds. That is also why the free version can finish the fixture side — it needs nothing from you.
Is the handbook the same thing as the competition rules?
No. The rules are section 2 — one part of the handbook. The handbook is the whole document teams and officials work from on the day. Small tournaments sometimes issue the rules alone, which works until the first fixture query.
Does a small in-house tournament need all eight sections?
Sections 1 and 3 can be cut right down. Three cannot: the competition rules, the fixture list and the result cards. Without the first you cannot settle a dispute, without the third you cannot produce a table. Section 8 stays too — safeguarding and first aid are not scaled down because the event is small.
How many copies?
One per team, one per referee, a few for the organising committee, plus two or three spares at the registration desk. Most organisers now send a PDF in advance and print only the fixture list and result cards.
What if the fixtures change after it has been printed?
Bump the version number on the title page and state in the rules that the latest published version governs. Post the change at the registration desk and tell every team manager directly — do not rely on people noticing a new PDF.
Fixtures, brackets and tables, generated
Enter your teams, pitches, days and opening hours. You get the fixture list with a time and a pitch on every match, the group and knockout brackets, referee cover, and a printable handbook — with the budget and break-even entry fee worked out alongside. Free, no sign-up.
Build the handbook