With 23 teams playing a single round robin, where every team meets every other team once, you get 23 rounds and 253 matches, with each team playing 22. 23 is an odd number, so one team sits out each round. That is why there are as many rounds as teams.
Teams are numbered 1 to 23. After the draw, swap the numbers for real club names. This uses the standard circle method, also known as Berger tables, which guarantees every team meets every other exactly once, with no duplicates and no gaps.
| Round | Fixtures |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | 1 bye2v233v224v215v206v197v188v179v1610v1511v1412v13 |
| Round 2 | 1v2322 bye2v213v204v195v186v177v168v159v1410v1311v12 |
| Round 3 | 1v2223v2120 bye2v193v184v175v166v157v148v139v1210v11 |
| Round 4 | 1v2122v2023v1918 bye2v173v164v155v146v137v128v119v10 |
| Round 5 | 1v2021v1922v1823v1716 bye2v153v144v135v126v117v108v9 |
| Round 6 | 1v1920v1821v1722v1623v1514 bye2v133v124v115v106v97v8 |
| Round 7 | 1v1819v1720v1621v1522v1423v1312 bye2v113v104v95v86v7 |
| Round 8 | 1v1718v1619v1520v1421v1322v1223v1110 bye2v93v84v75v6 |
| Round 9 | 1v1617v1518v1419v1320v1221v1122v1023v98 bye2v73v64v5 |
| Round 10 | 1v1516v1417v1318v1219v1120v1021v922v823v76 bye2v53v4 |
| Round 11 | 1v1415v1316v1217v1118v1019v920v821v722v623v54 bye2v3 |
| Round 12 | 1v1314v1215v1116v1017v918v819v720v621v522v423v32 bye |
| Round 13 | 1v1213v1114v1015v916v817v718v619v520v421v322v223 bye |
| Round 14 | 1v1112v1013v914v815v716v617v518v419v320v221 bye22v23 |
| Round 15 | 1v1011v912v813v714v615v516v417v318v219 bye20v2321v22 |
| Round 16 | 1v910v811v712v613v514v415v316v217 bye18v2319v2220v21 |
| Round 17 | 1v89v710v611v512v413v314v215 bye16v2317v2218v2119v20 |
| Round 18 | 1v78v69v510v411v312v213 bye14v2315v2216v2117v2018v19 |
| Round 19 | 1v67v58v49v310v211 bye12v2313v2214v2115v2016v1917v18 |
| Round 20 | 1v56v47v38v29 bye10v2311v2212v2113v2014v1915v1816v17 |
| Round 21 | 1v45v36v27 bye8v239v2210v2111v2012v1913v1814v1715v16 |
| Round 22 | 1v34v25 bye6v237v228v219v2010v1911v1812v1713v1614v15 |
| Round 23 | 1v23 bye4v235v226v217v208v199v1810v1711v1612v1513v14 |
Assuming 7-a-side, two 30-minute halves with a 5-minute break, plus changeover time, which comes to about 75 minutes per slot, and a 9-hour day, those 253 matches need:
| Pitches | Matches per day | Days needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 37 |
| 2 | 14 | 19 |
| 3 | 21 | 13 |
| 4 | 28 | 10 |
| 6 | 42 | 7 |
This is raw pitch capacity only. A real schedule also has to respect rest between matches, at least 60 minutes for youth football, no back-to-back games for the same side, and a cap on matches per team per day. Once those constraints go in, you usually need half a day to a full day more than the figure above.
Group stage (6 groups of 3–4), then teams split by group position into 2 tiers, each playing its own knockout plus placing matches: Cup (12 teams), Plate (11 teams). Every tier is played out to a full 1–N ranking. Roughly 6–7 matches per team.
A straight round robin is the fairest format: the table decides everything, with no luck of the draw. The trade-offs are that there is no final to build up to, and the match count grows quickly, since 23 teams already means 253 games. That is why most youth tournaments run a group stage followed by tiered knockouts. The groups settle the seeding, then teams drop into Cup, Plate or Shield brackets, so everyone gets a similar number of games and every side still has something to play for on the last day.
How is the match count worked out?
A single round robin with N teams is N x (N-1) / 2 matches. For 23 teams that is 23 x 22 / 2 = 253.
What happens with an odd number of teams?
A dummy bye slot is added to make the number even. Whichever team is drawn against it sits that round out. Across 23 rounds every team gets exactly one bye and plays 22 matches.
How are teams separated on equal points?
The usual English order is goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head record, then a play-off or drawing of lots. Some competitions put head-to-head first instead. Both are legitimate, but write your choice into the rules before kick-off, not after a tie has happened.
Need kick-off times and pitch numbers, not just who plays who?
The table above answers who plays whom. Add your pitches, days and opening hours and get a full handbook in about ten seconds: every match with a time and a pitch, clashes and back-to-back games avoided automatically, plus referee cover, budget and entry-fee break-even. Free, no sign-up.
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