Definitions

The game in one minute

Matchday XI is a free football game. Before each of your club's matches you pick the eleven players you think will start. When the official team sheet comes out, every player you picked who starts earns you points.

There's no betting and no money to put in. You play for your place on the leaderboards, in private leagues with friends, and for bragging rights.

Your club

You pick one club when you sign up, from the leagues we cover. Your own predictions and your place on the public leaderboards are for that club.

You can change club until you save your first prediction of the season. After that it's locked until the next season starts, when you can keep it or pick a new one. If your club drops out of the leagues we cover, you pick a new one.

In a private league you choose a club for that league when you join. It can be different from your own club, and it stays the same for that league.

Picking your lineup

Your lineup for your club's next match opens as soon as its previous match is over (its final score is in, or 2 and a half hours after its kickoff). So there's always a lineup to pick, often days ahead.

Pick exactly 11 players: one goalkeeper and ten outfield players, in any formation. The formation is only how your team looks, it never changes your score, and where you put an outfield player doesn't matter either. The squad list includes academy players who could start.

You can change your picks as often as you like until the lineup locks, 2 hours before kickoff. After that nothing can be changed. Long-press a player to see his recent starts and his season so far.

You only ever pick for your club's next match. Once it kicks off, the one after opens as soon as it's over.

Not sure how it works yet? The practice round lets you guess your club's last XI and see your score straight away, without anything being saved.

Scoring

10 points for each player you picked who starts. Get all eleven and that's a Perfect XI: a 25 point bonus, 135 points in all. Substitutes and unused players score nothing.

Lineups are scored as soon as the team sheet is in, usually about an hour before kickoff. Soon after kickoff we check again for late changes, like an injury in the warm up, and score again if a starter changed.

If a match is postponed or abandoned, it counts for nothing, for anyone. If it's rescheduled, its lineup opens again before the new kickoff.

A match you don't predict scores 0, and still counts as one of your club matches.

Leaderboards

Every leaderboard ranks by points per club match: your points divided by every match your club has played since you joined, including any you skipped. That way fans of clubs who play more often don't get ahead just for playing more.

You need 3 club matches to be ranked. Until then you're shown under the table as not ranked yet, with how many you've played. Ties go to the most Perfect XIs, then the most matches predicted, and then the place is shared.

There's a Europe leaderboard counting every competition, one for each competition counting only its own matches, and one for each club's fans. They all start fresh each season (1 July to 30 June), and past seasons stay viewable.

Tap any player's name to see their card: club, points, rank, Perfect XIs and trivia points.

Private leagues

A private league is your own table with friends, scored separately from the public boards. When you create one, you choose where its clubs come from: one league (only that league's matches count), any league (members pick any club we cover, and every match their club plays counts, cups and Europe included), or one club that everyone plays as (every match it plays counts).

The table ranks by points per match, like the public boards: your league points divided by the matches that counted for you since you joined, skipped ones included. You need 3 of them to be ranked. Ties go to the most Perfect XIs, then the most matches predicted, then a shared place.

Leagues run for the whole season. A league of one league's clubs runs for that league's season; the others run for the game's season (1 July to 30 June).

Anyone can ask to join a league, and its creator approves. Friends who join through the creator's own invite link get straight in, unless the creator turns that off. You can be in up to 20 leagues, waiting requests included. A free creator's league takes up to 10 members, the creator included; Pro and Pro Max leagues have no limit. Free players can create 1 league, Pro 2 and Pro Max 5.

Player of the Month: each month the member with the best points per match that month (at least 3 matches) gets the award, shared when level, from the 3rd of the next month. It's a badge, never a prize.

Every Monday you get a short update on where you stand in your leagues. When a league's season ends, its page shows the final table, the Champion, the most Perfect XIs and the most Player of the Month awards, with a card to share your finish.

Pro Max creators can add up to 3 co-admins, give their league its own colour, badge, banner and motto, and switch on a banter wall (posts are kept 30 days) and a Stats tab with the title race and head to head, for every member.

A league pauses when its creator's plan no longer covers it: its table is frozen until they subscribe again. A league being deleted closes for 7 days first, taking no lineups, and its members are told.

Daily trivia

Ten football questions every day, the same for everyone, with 15 seconds to answer each. A right answer is worth 10 points, plus up to 5 for answering fast. You can stop between questions and carry on later the same day.

A new set unlocks at midnight UTC (1am in Lagos). Trivia points are separate from your prediction points, with their own leaderboard for the week, the month and the season. Finish the set on days in a row to build your trivia streak.

Badges and marks

Gold shield: a founding player, who joined before the public launch on 30 October 2026. Gold star: Pro. Gold crown: Pro Max.

The disc next to your Perfect XI count shows your tier: bronze from 1 Perfect XI, silver from 5, gold from 10.

In a private league, a trophy shows how many Player of the Month awards a member has won, and the creator and co-admins are tagged.

Your streak counts the days in a row you open Matchday XI (UTC days).

Notifications

Every kind of notification is on when you join. Match reminders: the day before kickoff and 30 minutes before the lineup locks, only if you haven't picked yet, and on matchday. Results: your score when the team sheet is in, your league updates and awards. News from Matchday XI. The daily trivia reminder. Banter wall mentions.

You choose which kinds you get on Profile, Notifications. Your phone also has to allow them: on an iPhone that works once Matchday XI is on your Home Screen.

Plans

Free: Predict your club's starting XI every match. Daily trivia and every leaderboard. Join as many private leagues as you like. Create 1 private league for up to 10 friends. Quick Pick by watching a short ad, up to 3 a day. Ads, but none in your first 7 days.

Pro, ₦1,500 a month or ₦12,000 a year: Everything in Free, with no ads. Quick Pick: your XI filled in one tap. Save one lineup to all your leagues in one tap. Create 2 private leagues, with no limit on members. A gold star next to your name.

Pro Max, ₦2,700 a month or ₦21,600 a year: Everything in Pro. Create 5 private leagues. Co-admins to help run your leagues. Your league's own name, colour and badge. A banter wall and league stats, free for every member. Your own crest on every leaderboard and a gold player card. A gold crown next to your name.

Plans are on sale in Nigeria first. A free trial lasts 14 days (a month with some offers), and a card is checked with a small charge that's refunded straight away. You're reminded 3 days before a trial ends or a plan renews, and you can cancel in one tap on Profile, Your plan. If a renewal fails, everything keeps working for 7 days while we try again.

Inviting friends

Share your invite link from Profile, Invite friends. Every friend who signs up through it and pays for Pro or Pro Max gets a free month, and you earn free months of Pro as more of them pay: the first at 1 friend, then at 5, 25, 45, 65 and 85, up to 6 months.

Prizes

Sponsored prizes are coming soon. When they arrive, they'll be won on skill, with no luck draws.

Your account

Change your name and see your record on Profile. Download a copy of everything we hold about you from Profile, Account.

Deleting your account gives you 30 days to change your mind: log back in to keep it. Your feedback goes straight to the team from Profile, Feedback.

Words we use

Starting XI

The eleven players a club names to start a match. You predict it.

Perfect XI

All 11 of your picks started. Worth a 25 point bonus on top of the 110 for the starters: 135 in all.

Lineup opens

As soon as your club's previous match is over, you can pick the XI for its next one.

Lock

2 hours before kickoff your lineup is locked and can't be changed.

Team sheet

The official starting XI, usually out about an hour before kickoff. Lineups are scored as soon as it's in.

Club match

A match your club played since you joined (or since you picked that club). Ones you skip count as 0.

Points per match

Your points divided by your club matches. Every prediction leaderboard and private league table ranks by it.

Not ranked yet

You need 3 club matches before you get a place. Until then you're listed below the table.

Community XI

On public match pages, the XI Matchday XI players picked most for a club, shown once at least 5 players have picked.

Founding player

Joined before the public launch on 30 October 2026. A gold shield next to the name, for good.

Quick Pick

Fills your XI in one tap, ready to change before you save.

Save to all my leagues

Pro: one lineup saved everywhere the same club plays that match, in one tap.

Co-admin

A member a Pro Max creator trusts to approve requests and remove members.

Paused league

Its creator's plan no longer covers it. Its table is frozen until they subscribe again.

Closing league

Its creator asked to delete it. It takes no lineups and is deleted 7 days later unless they keep it.