How to run a Christmas junior football tournament

Your 6-week countdown

Six weeks is enough for a Christmas tournament if you start straight away. Working back from a mid-December Saturday:

• 6 weeks before: fix the date and venue, choose your age groups and format, set a maximum number of teams, and apply for County FA sanction straight away.
• 5 weeks before: send invitations, open entries with payment at entry and a waiting list, and confirm insurance, your welfare officer and first aider.
• 4 weeks before: book referees with a spare, and agree your weather plan and call-off time with the venue.
• 2 weeks before: build and check the timetable, then send every manager one message with everything in it, including your weather plan and call-off time.
• 3 days before: send that message again.
• The morning: check the pitches before your call-off time and tell everyone straight away either way.

A venue that works in December

Swipe the table sideways to see what to watch out for →

Whatever you pick, ask about toilets, somewhere warm for teams waiting between games, hot food and drink, parking, and a spot for the desk with power.

Fitting the day into the daylight

This is the big difference from a summer tournament. In Manchester, the earliest sunset of 2026 is 15:49 on 13 December, and the shortest day, 21 December, has about 7 hours 28 minutes of daylight (sunrise-sunset.org).

On unlit grass, plan for the last game to finish by about 3pm. That leaves time for presentations and packing up before it gets dark and cold. A quick example:

• First kick-off 9:30, last game finished by 15:00: that's 330 minutes.
• With 15-minute slots (game plus changeover), that's 22 games per pitch.
• Keep an empty slot roughly every hour. In winter it will get used.

Our pitch calculator works out how many pitches you need for the teams you're expecting, and the timetable guide shows how to keep it fair.

Formats and age groups

From the 2026/27 season, the FA's FutureFit changes start every format a year later (England Football: FutureFit; The FA, Know Your Format):

The FA also caps how many minutes a player can play in a day, with higher limits for tournaments than for normal fixtures, and the limits rise with age (Manchester FA explains the rules). The rules were updated for 2026/27, so check the current figures with your County FA when you apply for sanction.

For the younger age groups, the FA limits how many trophy events teams can play each season, so many clubs run the Christmas day for their youngest teams as a festival, with medals for everyone and no winners. Check the current rules with your County FA.

Sanction and the rules

A Christmas tournament needs sanction just like a summer one if affiliated teams are playing. Being festive or friendly doesn't change that. Apply early, because counties get busy before Christmas too. Our FA sanction guide covers who to ask, what you'll need (rules, welfare officer, risk assessment, first aid, insurance and a team list) and the North West county contacts.

When the weather turns

Decide all of this before you open entries, and put it in your message to managers:

• Who makes the call. Usually the venue or groundsman, with the referees.
• When. A fixed call-off time, early enough that families haven't set off.
• What teams get back. A refund, a credit for the next event, or a reserve date. Say it at entry, not on the morning.
• A back-up. A reserve date, or an indoor venue you can switch to.
• One place for updates. A single link or channel, so nobody acts on an old WhatsApp message.

On the day, a cold morning can still slow things down: frost checks, late arrivals, and a first aider needed more often. Build in some slack, keep waiting teams somewhere warm, and remind parents to bring layers for the touchline.

Making it feel like Christmas

• Christmas jumpers or fancy dress for coaches, parents and volunteers.
• Festive names for the groups or the cup.
• Christmas music at the desk, and a hot chocolate stall.
• Father Christmas at the presentation. If someone in costume will be mixing with the children, choose an approved adult and check with your welfare officer.

Keep it off the pitch, though. The Laws of the Game say players mustn't wear anything dangerous, and referees apply the normal equipment rules (IFAB, Law 4). Santa hats and tinsel stay on the touchline.

Raffles and collections

A raffle on the day is usually an "incidental lottery". The Gambling Commission says no licence is needed, as long as it raises money for a good cause rather than private gain and isn't the main purpose of the event (Gambling Commission). The main rules:

• Tickets are sold only at the event while it's running. Not online, not on social media, and not in advance.
• Give out physical tickets (cloakroom tickets are fine).
• Up to £100 of the proceeds can cover costs, and up to £500 can go on prizes. Donated prizes have no limit.
• No rollovers, and the draw happens during or after the event.

Checklist

• Date, venue, age groups, format and team cap fixed six weeks out
• County FA sanction applied for; insurance, welfare officer and first aider confirmed
• Daylight plan: last game finished by about 3pm on unlit grass
• Call-off time, decision-maker and refund policy decided and published
• Payments taken at entry; waiting list open; referees booked with a spare
• Timetable built with slack; message sent to managers two weeks and three days before
• Warm waiting area, hot drinks, first-aid kit and the nearest A&E on the desk sheet
• Festive extras planned for the touchline, not the pitch
• Raffle run by the incidental-lottery rules, if you're having one

Questions organisers ask

This guide is general information to help you plan, not official FA or legal advice. Rules change, so always check with your County FA, your venue and the Gambling Commission. Last checked 23 October 2026.