FAQs
Can players pick the same teams?
Yes. It’s unlikely players will pick exactly the same squads at both group stage and knockout, but if they do and they end up winning the league, tiebreak rules will apply (see rules).
Do I have to spend all of the $100 budget?
Yes, you have to spend it exactly. This means there are only eight possible formulations (shapes) for your portfolio at the start, using the pricing tiers. At the knockout stage, any combination of teams that equals $100 is allowed - we do not yet know the possible shapes.
How was the team pricing decided?
It’s based on FIFA world rankings. The prices stay the same through to knockout stage.
Do you publish all the leagues and keep a global leaderboard?
No, this site just provides the game kit for League Managers. Leagues are run independently and privately among friends, families and colleagues.
Should the League Manager share the spreadsheet with the players?
It’s not recommended. If something gets changed accidentally, it risks breaking the entire game. You’ll lose all your work and your players will be annoyed.
How should the League Manager communicate with players?
That’s up to the manager, but I’d recommend creating a Whatsapp (or similar) group for friends and family who have opted in to play, or a Teams/Slack etc if you’re playing with work colleagues. The League Manager should familiarise themselves with the rules then decide their approach to running the league.
How many can play in a game?
While the spreadsheet is set up for 2-30 players, if you have more than that just use duplicate spreadsheets. The League Manager will need to update extra sheets and manually compile the leaderboard for players. It’s a bit more work for them, but makes no difference to the players.
Why isn’t this an app or something more hi-tech than a spreadsheet?
I made this in a few days. A fully automated public platform — where scores update in real time from a live football data API and hundreds of users can register freely — is a different order of magnitude. Live football data APIs cost $30–100/month. You'd need rate limiting, a robust back-end, and ongoing maintenance. It is a big build for an experienced developer. Which I’m not!
How do you know everything will work across the tournament?
The methodology has been rigorously stress-tested and iterated, with 1000s of simulations run to ensure it’s fit for purpose. However, there is always the chance a stray bug could cause a problem. If anything odd happens, contact me. I will attempt to fix it and re-issue the spreadsheet.
