Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get started with Soccer Teammate?

This is a good way to start using Soccer Teammate.

  1. Add your team details

    Tap on 'My Team' from the 'My Teams' list and change the name of 'My Team' to your team name. You can also add other details of your team such as a logo, a contact for the coach, the ground at which it plays, the team's website.

    Tap on 'Team Colours' from the 'My Team' page and create the shirt colour for your team. Tap on 'Goalkeeper' colours and do the same for your goalkeeper shirt colours.

  2. Add your players

    Tap on 'Players' from the main menu to display the 'Players' list. Now tap on the '+' button to add new players. The name, their photo, a contact, playing position, shirt number, birth date, registration number and notes can be recorded for each player (and updated later as required). Once a player is added it is also possible to record them as the captain by tapping on them in the 'Players' list and tapping the 'Make Team Captain' button.

  3. Add a game

    Tap on 'Next Game' from the main menu. This will display a game details popover for entering all the details of your team's next game. The first time you create a game, setting the opponent for the game will involve creating a new opponent. Tap on 'Opponent', then 'Add Opponent' and add the details for the opponent, including their shirt colours in the same way you did for your team. Once an opponent is added it can be reused in later games.

    Other details that can be set for the game including the kick-off time, which must be in the future for live games, i.e. games you are going to record while they are playing (or in the past for games you are want to record that have already been played), the ground, which will be automatically set to your team's ground if the game is at home or can be changed to another ground. Again, a new ground has to be added in a similar way to adding an opponent, but once added can be reused. Also, grounds can be associated with opponents (from the 'Opponents' page) and then will be automatically selected when playing away against that team.

    The Competition selected for the game determines the details in the second section of the game page, such as the number of players and substitutes, the duration of the game and whether there can be extra-time and/or penalties. There are 3 pre-defined competitions (Cup, League and Friendly) and they can be modified as you want. New competitions can also be added. So if you normally pay 11 a-side 90 minutes games, but there is a 6 a-side 15 minute a game tournament, a new competition can be added just for the tournament. Competitions are added and modified from the 'Competitions' page. The statistics can also be displayed for individual competitions, hence the separation of friendly games from league and cup games - but how you organise them is entirely up to you. Note the the details in the second section of the game details are set from the competition selected, but changing them only changes them for the game, not the competition. So if the 6 a-side tournament started with a group stage, but then had a knockout with extra-time and penalties you could use the same competition throughout the tournament but change the extra-time and penalty settings for the knock-out games.

    Once the details of the game are added, tap 'Save' to create the game

  4. Record a game

    The game page will now be displayed, which on a tablet includes the starting line-up (and formation) and allows you to add players. Tap on each player outline to add players from your squad - the list of players you have already added. Additional players can be added at this stage and will also be added to your squad. Once added, players can be dragged to different positions.

    The formation used can be changed by tapping and holding one of the outfield players (not the goalkeeper or or a substitute). The players starting jiggling and can be dragged to a new formation. Tap on 'Done' to complete the formation change.

    You can create starting line-ups for your team from the 'Line-ups' page. Once created these can be selected for a game and so avoiding having to select players every time you create a game.

    Once all the players are added tap on the stopwatch button to start the game. You may get a warning if all players or substitutes have not been selected. You probably want to select all players on the pitch, although you don't have to. It is not important to fill all the substitutes slots.

    During the game all events recorded are displayed on the game screen, but you can also switch to a summary of the events (goals, substitutes, etc) or access statistics for the game using the 3 buttons just below the game summary in the top-left corner of the page. It is possible to make adjustments to the line-up either by swapping players or changing the formation at any time during the game.

    To record events tap on the player associated with the event and then select the type of the event. Alternatively tap on the '+' button at the bottom of the game page. Select the type of event and the team by tapping on the appropriate player (team) button. If the event is for your team, you can next select the player (or players in the case of a substitution).

    Incorrectly recorded events can be undone (using the undo button) or deleted - tap on the event and 'Delete Event'. Events can also be modified - their type changed, players changed, time adjusted, etc. Soccer Teammate automatically calculates the impact of the change and warns you if the change has consequences, such as a player not being on the pitch when an event is recorded for them - for instance if you try to delete the substitution event that brought them onto the pitch.

    The end and start of each period is recorded using the stopwatch button including the end of the game.

  5. Statistics

    Once games are recorded (and even while they are in progress) their details are included in the statistics page. The statistics displayed can be filtered by competition, team (you can have more than one team), opponent and season. To do so, tap on the filter (funnel) button and select the items you want to filter by. Note that this filter is also applied to the list of games displayed in the 'Matches' page.

    Individual player statistics can be obtained from tapping on a player from the 'Players' / 'Squad' page and then tapping on 'Statistics'.

    Other features in Soccer Teammate include the ability to share information using email, text, Twitter and Facebook and linking games to your calendar.

How do I use other formations?

For example 4-3-3.

It's possible to use any formation with Soccer Teammate.

You can change the formation before or during a game. You can also create line-ups / formations that can be used for a game, including default line-ups that are used whenever a game is created.

To change the formation tap on the Edit button on the game line-up screen. The outfield players will start to jiggle and you can drag them into a different formation. Tap the Done button to complete the formation change.

To create a 11 a-side line-up, go to the Line-ups screen and add a new line-up. Make sure the Players field is set to 11 and the Substitutes field is set appropriately. Give the line-up a name (say 4-3-3) and save it. Once saved you can then then change it's formation by tapping the Show Formation button on its details screen. Change the formation using the same method used for game line-ups. Then whenever you create a 11 a-side game you can use the line-ups button on the game screen to select 4-3-3. To make this line-up the default simply tap on the Make Default button on the line-up's details screen. The line-up will then be used whenever you create a 11 a-side game (but of course can subsequently be changed).

You can create any number of line-ups and a default line-up for each different number per side, e.g. one for 5 a-side, one for 6 a-side, etc. Line-ups can contain players and so it's possible to have a default team selection for all 11 a-side games. It's also possible to switch line-ups during a game providing the line-up is compatible - it has the same number of players and no more substitutes than the game and every player in the line-up is selected for the game.

The Formations screen can also be used to set default formations (for games and line-ups). It lists the formations you have used and allows you to set default formations and change the name of the positions within the formations. If you always used the same formation for 11 a-side games, this would be the simplest way to set it as default.

How do I change the default format for games?

For example 8 a-side, 7 substitutes, 60 minute games.

The simplest way to change the default format for games is to edit the details for the League competition. To do this go to the Competitions screen and tap on League competition. This will display the details for the League competition. There are fields for Players, Substitutes and Duration, which can be set to 8, 7 an 60 respectively. All games created that have a Competition set to League (the default) will now be 8 a-side with 7 substitutes and last 60 minutes (2 30 minute periods / halves - you can change the number of periods too). This will be the default, but it can be changed for individual games.

How do I set up different game formats for two teams?

For example, one team that plays 7 a-side and another than plays 8 a-side games.

The simplest way to ensure the right format games are used for each of these teams is to create competitions for each team that have the appropriate settings. So for one team you create a competition (or competitions) where the number of players is set to 7 whereas for the other team you create competitions with the number of players set to 8. When creating a game you then just need to select the appropriate competition for whichever team is playing.

Alternatively, you can change the setting for a competition. To do this, from the home screen tap on 'Competitions', then tap on the competition you want to change. This will display the competition details and again there is a 'Players' field with a default value of 11 that can be changed. Once changed, any game created for that competition will use that number of players. All competitions can be changed in the same way or new competitions can be added with appropriate number of players. For example a competition could be created that has 5 a-side matches, whereas your League matches could be 7 a-side.

How do I record player availability for a game?

When you create a game, before it has kicked-off, you can record which of your players are available to play in it. To do this, from the game screen tap on the 'Details' button ('Edit' button on iOS) and then tap on the 'Availability' field. This lists all the players in your squad with a question mark ('?') against each. The question mark indicates that their availability for the game is unknown. Tap on a player to change the question to a tick to indicate that they are available and again to change it to a cross to indicate that they are unavailable. The 'All' button can be used to change the setting of all players to available, unavailable or unknown. Tap the 'Save' button when you're done. The number of players available is displayed in the 'Availability' field. This is shown as a range, the minimum value being only those players that are marked as available and the maximum value also includes those players whose availability is unknown.

The starting line-up for the game is selected as normal, i.e. by tapping on each player outline on the game line-up screen. However, the list of players to select from will not include players who are unavailable.

How do I select a line-up for a game?

Once you have created line-ups for a team that are suitable for using in a game, the line-up button will appear in the top left hand corner of the Line-up screen for that game, before it has been started. For a line-up to be suitable for using in a game it must have the same number of players as the game and it must not have more substitutes than the game. So for instance, you can't use a 7 a-side line-up in a 11 a-side game.

Tapping the line-ups button brings up a list of suitable line-ups to choose from. Selecting a line-up will replace your existing line-up for that game.

How do I record old games?

To add old games from the Games screen select the Results button at the bottom of the screen and tap the '+' button at the top of the screen. This will then add a result. The kick-off must be in the past. Events can be added as normal but are not in real-time. The time of the event can be adjusted by selecting the event and then the minute.

How do I award Player of the Game?

Once the game is completed, bring up the line-up and then tap on the player you want to award Player of the Game. Tap the 'Award Player of the Game' button at the top of the player details screen. A golden star will appear on the player's shirt in the line-up. You can award Player of the Game to more than one player.

How do I delete a game?

There is a 'Delete Game' button at the bottom the of game details screen, which is accessed via the Edit button on a game screen.

Other types of item can be deleted in a similar way, but some require other items that are using them to be deleted first. For instance, you can't delete a competition you've added if it has any games.

How do I email full details of a game?

In the Mail section of the Settings screen set 'Game Events' to Full and the Line-up and Scrorers switches to On. Any email you now send for a game will include all the game events, the starting line-up and a list of scorers.

How do I transfer data between devices?

The export facility can be used to transfer your Soccer Teammate database between devices. The export facility typically sends the database as an email attachment, but it can also be shared using AirDrop (on iOS) or Google Drive (on Android). Generate an export using the Export Database button on the Settings screen. If using email, you need to have an email account setup on both devices. When the email is received tapping on the attachment will give a choice of applications, which will include Soccer Teammate. The database is not immediately imported, but can be imported at any time from the Settings screen.

Alternatively on iOS you can use the iCloud backup and restore facility. This is primarily designed for backing up and restoring your Soccer Teammate database, but can also be used to transfer the database between devices that are using the same iCloud account. To use it you need to enable iCloud on each of your devices. Do this using the Settings application. Enabling iCloud requires a valid Apple ID and password. For this you would typically use the same Apple ID you use to access the iTunes Store, but it doesn't have to be that one. It could be a separate one you've specifically created for using with iCloud. Once iCloud is enabled, it is up to you what features in iCloud you want to enable, but the one that must be enabled for Soccer Teammate is 'Documents & Data'. With this enabled, Soccer Teammate will display an iCloud Backup section in its Settings screen, including a 'Back Up Now' button and a 'Restore from Backup' button. The second of these allows you to restore from backups that have been created from other devices using the same iCloud account. That is devices using the same Apple ID.

You can use the iCloud section of the Settings application to list and manage the Soccer Teammate backups that have been created. The 'Storage & Backup' page within the iCloud section of the Settings application has a 'Manage Storage' button that takes you to a list of applications, which if you have successfully created a backup will include Soccer Teammate. Tapping it will reveal a list of backups, their name and size and allow you to delete them.

Can I transfer data between Android and iOS?

Yes, you can transfer data between Soccer Teammate running on Android and iOS using the export facility. Standard exports can be used when transferring from Android to iOS, but portable exports must be used when transferring from iOS to Android.

Portable exports are export files generated on iOS that can be imported into Soccer Teammate running on Android. They are enabled by turning on the Portable Exports switch on the Settings screen. Importing portable export files on iOS is slower than importing non-portable export files, so we recommend only using them when transferring from iOS to Android. Note that export files generated on Android can be loaded into Soccer Teammate running on iOS.

Why isn't there any pre-filled text when I share to Facebook?

Facebook's policy is not to allow applications to pre-fill the status message with any content that the user didn't enter themselves - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/apps/review/prefill.

How do I export data to a spreadsheet?

Exporting data in a format that can be imported into a spreadsheet uses Gmail (on Android) and Mail (on iOS). To do the export tap on the Share button on the appropriate screen (Statistics, Record or a game screen) and select the "Export Gmail" option (on Android) or the "Export" option (on iOS). An email is generated with an attachment containing the data in CSV (comma-separated values) format. On the Game screen the data exported depends on the tab selected. The Events or Summary tabs generate game event data and Statistics tab generates game statistics data.