Soccer & futsal team picker: fair teams, balanced by skill
Paste your player names and rate their skill. We'll split them into 2 to 4 even teams, taking goalkeepers and positions into account.
Add players
Separate names with line breaks or commas. Numbers and emoji from your group chat poll are stripped out automatically.
Players: 0
The number is skill (1-5). Tap the button on the right to change position.
What else the app can do
🗳️Teams from confirmed players onlyNo copying names around: teams are built from the people who RSVP'dIn the app › ⭐Skill ratings saved to your teamRate players once and never re-enter them every weekIn the app › 🖼️Share lineups as an imagePost a lineup card with bib colors and positions to your group chatIn the app › 🏆Match records & top scorer statsResults and personal stats from every game add up over the seasonIn the app ›How to pick fair teams for pickup soccer and futsal
The number one complaint at any pickup game or weekly kickabout is "the teams were stacked again." When one side is up by five goals ten minutes in, nobody's having fun, winners included. There's no single right way to pick sides, but choosing a method that fits your group makes a real difference to the quality of the games.
Random teams
When the group is new and nobody knows each other's level, or it's a casual social run, random is the cleanest option. Nobody can accuse the captain of stacking the deck, and you get to play with people you don't usually team up with. The catch: with smaller groups, luck can pile the good players on one side. With around 10 players, take a quick look at the result and hit reshuffle if it looks lopsided.
Skill-balanced teams
If the same crew plays every week, rating players and splitting by skill is far fairer than schoolyard captains picking. This tool takes the strongest players first and drops each one into the team with the fewest players and the lowest skill total. Then it tries swapping players between pairs of teams to find the combination with the smallest skill gap. Players with the same rating are shuffled randomly, so every time you hit "Reshuffle" you get a new mix, and the same guys don't end up together every week.
Tips for rating player skill
Ratings don't need to be precise. A simple 1-to-5 scale actually works better, because it's easy for organizers to agree on.
- Make 3 the baseline. Your average regular is a 3. Clearly better players get a 4 or 5, and people who've just started playing get a 1 or 2.
- Factor in fitness and work rate. Futsal and small-sided games have rolling subs and quick transitions, so the ability to keep running matters as much as first touch.
- Keep the ratings private. If only the organizers know them, nobody gets their feelings hurt.
- Adjust after a few weeks. If one side keeps winning, bump up the rating of whoever keeps landing on that team by one point.
Split the goalkeepers first
In futsal and 5-a-side, the keeper can decide the game. That's why this tool hands out players marked GK first, one per team, and when it swaps players it only swaps keepers with keepers. If your group doesn't have a regular keeper, leave GK blank and rotate in goal. Marking defenders, midfielders and forwards too means the same positions won't all pile onto one team.
When the numbers don't divide evenly
Split 11 players into 2 teams and you get 6 vs 5. The most natural fix is for the bigger team to run a sub rotation.
- Sub rotation: Every 5 minutes or every goal, one player sits out and the next one comes on. Keep track of who's sat out so it stays fair.
- Three-team rotation: With 15 or more players, make 3 teams and play winner stays on (or swap after two games). Everyone gets a natural breather.
- Balance with skill: In skill-balance mode, the short-handed team automatically gets slightly stronger players to even things out.
Names and ratings are saved only in this browser and never sent to a server. Come back next week and your list will still be here.
FAQ
How does skill-balance mode split the teams?
It first gives each team one goalkeeper, then adds the remaining players from highest to lowest skill to the team with the fewest players and the lowest skill total. After that it tries swapping players between teams to shrink both the skill gap and any position imbalance. Players with the same rating are shuffled, so you get a different combination each time.
Can I paste the results of a group chat poll straight in?
Yes. Names can be separated by line breaks or commas, and leading numbers like 1. and 2., emoji, bullet points and extra spaces are removed automatically. If the same name appears twice, it's only added once.
Where are the names and skill ratings stored?
Only in the browser you're using right now. Nothing is sent to a server, so the list reloads next time you visit on the same device and nobody else can see it. To share skill ratings with your whole team, save them to your team in the FutsalMoa app.
What if the number of players doesn't divide evenly into teams?
Extra players are spread one per team, so team sizes differ by at most one player. During the game, the bigger team can rotate subs, or a player can sit out and help the smaller side.
When should I use random mode instead of skill balance?
Random is handy when the group is new and you don't know everyone's level, or when it's just a casual game. If the same players meet every week and the games keep ending up one-sided, switch to skill balance.