Friendly Rules

What Extra Minutes is for

Extra Minutes is for informal friendlies, training games, and casual games. It is designed around arranging more football with less admin.

Creating a friendly

Friendly listings include the key details teams need to decide whether the game is right for them: date, time, format, hosting preference, and venue.

Host team details in search

Friendly search results show the host club and team from the start so clubs can decide whether a friendly is a good match before showing interest.

Draft friendlies

You can draft a friendly first and post it later. Drafting helps organisers check details before sharing the game more widely.

Availability polls

Availability polls help managers check whether enough players are available before committing to a game. Poll links are public-by-link for anyone who receives them.

Expressing interest

Expressing interest is intended for teams from another club that want to arrange the friendly with the host team that posted it.

Selecting and confirming teams

The host selects one of the interested teams, and the selected team must confirm before the stated deadline or cutoff so the friendly can be finalised.

Selected team confirmation window

If a team is selected between 08:00 and 18:00 local time, it has 3 hours to respond. If selected before 08:00, the deadline is 11:00 the same day. If selected after 18:00, the deadline is 11:00 the next day.

• Selected at 14:00 → deadline 17:00
• Selected at 19:30 → deadline 11:00 the next day
• Selected at 00:15 → deadline 11:00 the same day

Hosting and venues

If you can host, add the venue details to the friendly. If you are using a saved ground, use that record instead of creating a duplicate new ground just for the same game.

Travel-only friendlies

If a friendly is marked travel-only, interested teams can suggest one of their own grounds as the place to play.

Small group friendly sessions

Some friendly sessions may involve a small group of teams. The host provides the venue, and each opponent confirms its own place in the session.

Cancellations and withdrawals

Cancelling an open friendly removes it from search immediately, and a short posting pause may still apply.

Same-day friendly limits

A team can only have one confirmed friendly on the same day, which helps avoid clashes and keeps confirmed games realistic.

Results and scores

Results can be saved for records, but Extra Minutes does not use them to run tables or standings.

Safeguarding and match-day responsibilities

Teams remain responsible for safeguarding, supervision, permissions, insurance, venues, and the practical arrangements needed to run the match safely on the day.

League, FA, and governing body rules

Extra Minutes helps teams connect and confirm games, but clubs should still follow their usual club, league, County FA, school, or governing body rules.