Table of contents
1. What the app can do – and what it can’t
With the Tournamentbase.com app, you can follow tournaments that an organizer has created with Tournamentbase.com: schedule, results, standings, final round, and tournament bracket – live on your device during the tournament.
The app is meant for following along. Creating tournaments, entering participants, or recording results is done by the organizer on Tournamentbase.com. You cannot change any tournament data in the app. You don’t need an account and you don’t have to sign in. All you need is the Tournament ID or the QR code of the tournament – you’ll get both from the organizer. You can also find public tournaments using Search.
2. Structure and Operation
The-Three-Areas
At the bottom, you’ll find three sections:
| Area | Content |
|---|---|
| My Tournaments | Your tournament list and the tournament view |
| Settings | Profile, language, appearance, remove tournament data |
| Legal Notice | Contact, FAQ, legal information |
The app runs in portrait mode and in light theme.
Tap, Swipe, Drag
In addition to tapping, the app recognizes four gestures. Anything you can do with a gesture can also be done with a button – you don’t need to memorize any of them.
| Gesture | Where | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Swipe left | Row in the tournament list | Reveals the red delete area (Remove tournament) |
| Pull down | At the top of the tournament list | Reloads all tournaments (Refresh list) |
| Swipe down | On an open window | Pushes the window down and closes it (Close window) |
| Swipe sideways | In the tournament bracket | Moves the bracket to the next round (Final round) |
Tapping applies to everything else: a tournament row opens the tournament, a section heading expands or collapses the table, and the speech bubble icon opens the match events.
Close window
Windows that slide in from the bottom – Add tournament, My teams, Share tournament, the info page, Profile and Language – can be closed again in three ways:
- Swipe down: Place your finger anywhere on the window and drag it down. The window follows your finger. If you release after about a finger’s length or with some momentum, it slides all the way down and closes. If you release before that, it slides back into place.
- Via the X in the top right, or the “Done” button at the bottom.
- On Android, also via your device’s back button.
If the window contains a list – such as the teams or the profiles – and you’ve scrolled down within it, your swipe first scrolls the list back up. Only once the list is fully at the top does the window pick up the gesture. So scroll up briefly if the window won’t slide away.
Tapping the darkened area next to the window does not close it – so you won’t accidentally lose what you were entering.
3. My Tournaments
Add tournament
On first launch, the list is empty. Tap + Add tournament. Later, you’ll find this via the round + icon in the top right.
A window opens with three tabs. At the top you’ll see an icon for each tab; only the currently selected tab shows its name next to the icon.
| Icon | Tab |
|---|---|
| QR code with scan frame | QR code |
| Ticket | Tournament ID |
| Magnifying glass | Search |
QR-Code
- Tap the QR code icon to select the QR code tab.
- The first time, the app asks for access to your camera – tap “Allow camera access” and confirm the system prompt.
- Hold the tournament’s QR code inside the frame – for example from a printed tournament schedule, from the tournament page or from a friend’s app. The app recognizes it automatically; you don’t need to press anything. Older printed QR codes work too.
- The tournament is loaded and opens right away. If it’s already in your list, it simply opens without being added twice.
Tournament ID
- Tap the ticket icon to select the Tournament ID tab.
- Enter the Tournament ID you received from the organizer – it’s made up of letters and digits, usually ten. Upper and lower case don’t matter.
- Tap “Add tournament”.
A tournament you already have in your list won’t be added twice – it will simply open.
You can cancel via the X in the top right or by swiping the window down (Close window).
Search
- Tap the magnifying glass to select the Search tab.
- Type a search term into the “Tournament, location or organizer” field – for example part of the tournament name, the city, the venue or the club organizing the tournament. From 2 characters on, the app searches automatically as soon as you pause typing for a moment.
- Each matching tournament appears below as its own card: the logo on the left, if it has one, the tournament name next to it, and below that the date (calendar icon) and the time (clock icon). The status is shown at the bottom right – Live, Upcoming or Finished. Status and order are the same as in your tournament list: ongoing tournaments at the top, then upcoming ones, and finished ones last. Tournaments that are already in your list are not shown in the search. You’ll see 15 tournaments at first; when you swipe up to the end of the list, the next 15 appear. Tap the X in the search field to clear it.
- Tap the square + at the top right of the card of the tournament you want. While the app fetches the tournament, a loading spinner turns inside the button; then the tournament is added to your list and opens right away. If it doesn’t work, the reason is shown above the results and you can try again straight away.
Only public tournaments can be found, up to 50 at a time. If you can’t find a tournament, make your search term more specific or use the Tournament ID or the QR code from the organizer.
Send a tournament from the website to the app
When you share a tournament on tournamentbase.com, you’ll find the option “Send to app”. If you tap it on your phone, the app opens immediately – even if it was closed before – and shows “Loading tournament …”. The tournament then opens directly and is added to your tournament list from then on. If another tournament was already open, the app switches to the new one.
- Tap “Back” at the top left – or use the back button on your Android device – to return to the tournament list, even while the tournament is still loading.
- “Tournament not found”: The tournament doesn’t exist (anymore); the organizer may have archived it.
- “Tournament not available”: The app didn’t receive a response. Check your connection and tap “Try again”.
- “Invalid tournament link”: The Tournament ID is missing from the link or is corrupted. The app stays on the tournament list.
The Tournament List
Each row shows the tournament’s logo, name, and start date, along with a colored stripe and a status field:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Live (with dot) | The tournament is currently in progress. Results arrive live. |
| Upcoming | The tournament hasn’t started yet. |
| Finished | The tournament’s time period has ended. |
| No longer available | The organizer has archived the tournament. |
Tapping a row opens the tournament. An archived tournament can no longer be opened – its data is no longer on the server. The row remains so you can read it and remove it.
Refresh list
To refresh, pull the list down: place your finger at the top of the list, drag it down a bit, and release. A loading circle appears, and the app fetches all tournaments from the server again. This only works if the list is already scrolled all the way to the top – so scroll up first if you’re further down. The app also refreshes the list automatically every time you open the My Tournaments section or close a tournament. So you only need to do this manually if you want to reload in between. Without an internet connection, the app continues to show what was last loaded. Nothing is lost.
Remove tournament
Swipe the row to the left: place your finger on the tournament row and drag it left, about a thumb’s width. The row moves along with it, revealing a red area behind it with a trash icon and the label Delete.
- Tap Delete to remove the tournament.
- If you decide not to delete it, simply swipe the row back to the right.
The row closes, nothing happens.
A short tap on the row still opens the tournament as usual – to delete, you have to swipe, so a mistap costs nothing. This only removes the tournament from your app. The tournament itself still exists – you can add it again at any time using the Tournament ID or the QR code.
4. The Tournament View
When you open a tournament, you’ll see a page that you scroll through from top to bottom.
The Buttons at the Top
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| Back (top left) | Back to the tournament list |
| i (Info) | Opens the organizer’s information page. Only appears if the organizer has provided one. Links included open in your browser. Scroll the page within the window; to close it, swipe it all the way up first and then down – or tap the X. |
| QR-Code | Opens Share tournament |
| Jersey | Opens My Teams. The jersey is highlighted once you’ve selected at least one team. |
Ticker
If the organizer has posted a current announcement, it scrolls as a text banner beneath the buttons. If Reduce Motion is active in your system settings, the text stays still and is displayed on multiple lines instead.
Tournament data
Below the logo and name are the tournament’s key details:
- Date and time – start of the tournament
- Venue – if the full address is provided, the location is tappable and opens your maps app. On iOS, you can choose between “Maps” and “Google Maps” if both are installed; if no maps app is available, the map opens in your browser.
- Organizer – if a website is provided, the name is tappable.
- Match duration – length of a match in minutes
- Ranking mode – the criteria by which the standings are sorted, in this order: Points, Goal difference, Number of goals, Head-to-head
The app omits any details that haven’t been provided.
Sponsors
If the tournament has a sponsor, its logo appears below the tournament details. A tournament can have up to six sponsors; they then take turns in a shared box under the heading “Sponsors”: each sponsor is shown for eight seconds before the next one appears – in the order set by the organizer. After the last one, it starts again with the first. If a sponsor has no logo, its name is shown instead.
If a website has been added for a sponsor, you can tap its logo or name – the website opens in your browser. Sponsors without a website can’t be tapped.
Previous and next tournament
If the tournament belongs to a series – for example, a qualifier and its associated final tournament – the Previous tournament and Next tournament buttons appear. Tapping one switches directly to that tournament. The linked tournament is automatically added to your tournament list.
Expand and collapse sections
All tables are organized into sections with a heading: Standings, Schedule, Final round, and so on. Tap the heading row – anywhere on it, the arrow to its left shows you which way it’ll go – to open or close the section. The app remembers, separately for each tournament, what you’ve collapsed.
The tournament view itself is one long page: you scroll through it vertically, from the tournament details at the top to the final round at the bottom. Collapsed sections shorten the way.
Which sections appear depends on the tournament. A standings table that the organizer has hidden won’t appear at all; the same goes for a schedule in a tournament that consists only of a final round.
If you’d like everything expanded right away when you open a tournament, turn on Open tables expanded in the settings (Open tables expanded).
5. The Tables in Detail
Ranking
The current standings. If the tournament has multiple groups, each group appears in its own separately expandable table.
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pos | Position/rank |
| Participant | Name, with crest if a logo is provided |
| P | Number of matches played |
| GF | Goals scored |
| GD | Goal difference |
| Pts | Points |
For tournaments scored only by wins, the W (Wins), D (Draws), and L (Losses) columns appear instead of GF and GD.
If a small downward arrow with a number appears next to a position, the organizer has moved that participant back that many places.
If a tournament has a final round, this section is called Preliminary round standings.
Schedule
All matches in their order.
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No. | Match number |
| Kick-off | Kick-off time |
| Grp | Group – only for tournaments with multiple groups |
| Match | The two participants, separated by a dash |
| Result | Score, – : – as long as no result has been entered yet |
A match currently in progress is highlighted with a colored background and border.
For a league, the schedule is divided by matchday; for a tournament spanning multiple days, it’s divided by calendar day. Each section shows its date as a second line and can be expanded or collapsed individually.
If the tournament has a final round, this section is called Preliminary round.
Live matches
If Highlight ongoing matches is turned on in the settings, the app collects all currently running matches in their own table at the very top. It appears automatically as soon as a match kicks off, and disappears again once none are still running. The matches also remain in their usual place in the schedule.
Match events
If the organizer has entered events for a match – goals, cards, notes – a speech bubble icon with the count appears at the end of the row. Tap the icon to expand the list; tap again to close it. The row itself is not tappable – the only way to the events is via the speech bubble.
The events are listed one below the other with match minute, icon, and text, newest first. If there are more than four, you can expand the rest via Show all … and collapse them again with Show less. When collapsing, the app automatically scrolls the match back into view so you don’t have to search for where you were.
The icons represent, among others, Goal, Own goal, Penalty, Shot on goal, Free kick, Corner, Offside, Foul, Yellow card, Red card, Yellow-red card, Time penalty, Substitution, Note, and Highlight.
Final round
You can view the final round in two layouts. At the top of the section, you switch between Table and Bracket. The app remembers your choice per tournament.
Table – the matches are listed under their match name. Above each match, a grey bar shows what it is – “Final”, “3rd place match”, “Semi-final”. Several matches with the same name are grouped together under one bar.
Each match takes up two rows: at the top No., F and Start, and below that the two participants side by side with the score in the middle (- : - as long as none has been entered). Above each name, in small print, it says where the participant comes from – for example “1st Group A” or “Winner Match 12”. If a participant has a logo, it appears below their name. As long as the pairings haven’t been determined yet, only their origin is shown, without a logo. Because the pairing gets the full width, even long club names fit.
Bracket – the rounds side by side, from the first round to the winner. It’s wider than the screen, so you move it yourself:
- Swipe sideways within the bracket – left to move to the next round and eventually the final, right to go back. This doesn’t interfere with the page’s vertical scrolling: swipe sideways and the bracket moves, swipe up or down and the page scrolls.
- Or tap the arrows at the edges of the bracket. An arrow only appears as long as there’s still something to see in that direction.
Earlier rounds collapse to save space. If you’ve already scrolled into the bracket, the app automatically brings its round headings back into view as soon as you swipe sideways – otherwise you wouldn’t be able to tell whether you’re looking at the quarterfinal or the round of 16.
The winner appears on the far right, shown as not yet determined until it’s decided. Placement matches appear below the bracket. The app remembers where you last left the bracket and shows it there again the next time you open it.
The bracket is only available for a true knockout round. If the final round is played as a group, only the table is shown.
Final round ranking and placements
After the final round, the app shows its standings – with one table per group if there are multiple final groups. If fixed placements are decided instead, a list of position and participant appears.
Tournaments without goal scoring
For tournaments scored only by win, draw, and loss, the result column doesn’t show a score but rather a symbol indicating who won. The standings then show W / D / L instead of goals, and the bracket does without numbers.
Live update
While a tournament is in progress, the app stays connected to the server and updates automatically – you don’t need to reload anything. When a value changes, the affected row briefly lights up yellow and then fades back. When a new match event is added, the row’s speech bubble icon flashes.
The connection is active on the tournament days themselves, from the first to the last, all day each day. Outside this period, the app shows the last saved state; it’s updated when you open the tournament list or pull it down.
Very large tables build up from top to bottom within a few moments. If you scroll straight to the bottom, it may take a moment for the last rows to appear.
6. My teams
Via the jersey icon in the top right of the tournament view, you select the teams you’re following.
- Tap a name to select or deselect it.
- You can select up to four teams per tournament. Each gets its own color.
- Selected teams are highlighted with color in all tables for that tournament – in the standings as well as in every match row they’re involved in.
- Once the maximum is reached, the remaining names are grayed out until you deselect one.
- A match currently in progress keeps its own highlighting; it takes priority over the team color.
The selection applies per tournament and remains in place until you change it.
Show only my teams
In the same window, you’ll find the Show only my teams toggle. It only becomes available once you’ve selected at least one team.
When turned on, it hides all matches your teams aren’t involved in – in both the schedule and the final round. The standings remain complete, since a position is only meaningful in comparison with everyone else.
If this leaves a table empty, the app shows the message No data available for the selected teams, with Adjust filter below it, which takes you straight back to the selection.
If you deselect your last team, the filter switches off automatically.
Your selection takes effect immediately – there’s nothing to confirm. Close the window via Done, the X in the top right, or by swiping it down. If you’ve scrolled far down in the list, swipe it back up to the top first (Close window).
7. Share tournament
Via the QR code icon in the top right, you display a QR code for the currently open tournament. Others can scan it with their Tournamentbase app via + → QR code to get the tournament onto their device.
Below it is the Tournament ID, for reading out or copying down – handy when scanning isn’t possible, for example over the phone. You can also press and hold it to select and copy it.
Passing it on
The “Share” button opens your device’s share menu – the same one you know from other apps, with WhatsApp, email, Messages and whatever else you have installed. What gets sent is an image: the QR code with the tournament name above it, nothing else. Whoever receives it scans the code and has the tournament in their app.
Along with the image, a short text is sent: the tournament name and tournament ID to type in, in case scanning doesn’t work at the moment, and the links to the app on the App Store and Google Play – for anyone who doesn’t have the app yet. Whether the image and text arrive together depends on the app you choose to send it with: some only take the image. You can usually still edit the text before sending.
You can close the window via Done, the X in the top right, or by swiping it down.
8. Profiles
A profile is its own, separate area within the app. Each profile has its own tournaments, teams, settings, and its own language. This lets you, for example, create a separate profile for each child, each team, or each club.
You’ll find the profiles under Settings → Profile.
- Switch – tap a profile in the list. The app immediately shows that profile’s tournaments. Anything you had set up in the other profile stays exactly as you left it.
- New profile – via the button at the bottom. Give it a name, for example “Lena” or “U9”. A new profile starts empty, as if you were opening the app for the first time.
- Rename – via the pencil icon in the row.
- Delete – via the trash icon. This removes all tournaments, teams, and settings for that profile. This cannot be undone. Other profiles are not affected. The default profile cannot be deleted.
Creating, renaming, and deleting each open their own view within the same window. If you swipe down there – or tap the back button on Android – you return to the profile list, not out of the window. Only a second swipe on the list closes it completely.
9. Settings
Profiles
Shows the active profile and opens profile management (Profiles).
Language
The app supports German, English, Spanish, French, Croatian, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, and Turkish. With Device language, it adopts your device’s language; this is the default. The language applies per profile.
Tap the Language row and select a language in the window. It’s applied immediately, and the window closes on its own – there’s nothing to confirm. If you want to exit without making a change, swipe the window down or tap the X in the top right.
Open tables expanded
Off (default): A tournament opens with the tables collapsed, and the app permanently remembers what you’ve expanded and collapsed.
On: Standings, schedule, and final round are visible right away when you open a tournament. Anything you collapse in this mode only applies for as long as the tournament stays open.
Highlight live matches
Off (default): Ongoing matches are only marked within the schedule.
On: All currently running matches also appear in their own table at the very top of the tournament view (Live matches).
Tournament data
Remove all tournaments clears your tournament list in the current profile. The app asks for confirmation beforehand and states the number. The tournaments themselves remain unaffected – you can add them again at any time using their Tournament ID or QR code.
Version
At the very bottom is the installed version of the app. This information helps support when needed.
“What’s new?” – After an update, the app shows a window with the most important new features once, the first time you open it. If you skipped an update, the new features of the skipped version are listed there too. Close it with “Got it”, the X at the top right or by tapping outside it; after that, it won’t appear again for this version. You won’t see it after a fresh install – everything is new then anyway.
10. Legal Notice
The third section contains the legal information for Tournamentbase GmbH, along with an email address and phone number – both directly tappable – and a link to the frequently asked questions.
Important: Support cannot answer questions about the organization of a tournament – we only operate the tournament planner. Please contact the organizer directly for this, especially if you
- want to withdraw a participant,
- can’t find the way to the tournament,
- have lost an item,
- believe a result has been entered incorrectly, or
- a participant’s name is spelled incorrectly.
11. Frequently Asked Questions and Issues
No tournament was found.
Check the Tournament ID for typos and ask the organizer whether it’s still valid. Also check your internet connection.
“The tournament could not be loaded.”
The app waited up to 20 seconds for a response and then gave up. This is usually due to the connection – in a sports hall or on a sports ground it’s often weak, and a Wi-Fi network that first wants you to see a login page doesn’t help at all. Switch to mobile data or find a better spot and try again: in the Tournament ID tab via “Add tournament”, in the QR code tab by scanning again.
“Please enter the Tournament ID.” / “Please enter letters or numbers only.”
The Tournament ID consists only of letters and digits, with no spaces or special characters – usually there are ten.
“No tournaments found.” The search only covers public tournaments. Check the spelling or try a different part of the name, the location or the organizer. If the tournament isn’t public, you can only get to it with the Tournament ID or the QR code. Tournaments that are already in your list are hidden from the search – check there.
“The search took too long.” Just like when loading a tournament, the app waits up to 20 seconds for a response. Check your internet connection and change your search term or type it again to retry.
The QR code isn’t recognized.
Make sure there’s enough light and hold the whole code inside the frame. Alternatively, you can always enter the Tournament ID manually.
“This QR code doesn’t contain a tournament” The app only understands QR codes that lead to exactly one tournament – from meinturnierplan.de, torneo.it, torneo.es, tournoiplus.fr, turniej.pl or tournamentbase.com. A QR code for a list of several tournaments doesn’t count. Tap “Scan again” and try the QR code of the individual tournament.
“No tournament was found.”
The tournament for this QR code or Tournament ID doesn’t exist (anymore) – the organizer may have archived it.
The app no longer asks for the camera.
If you’ve denied access once, you can allow it again in your device’s settings under Tournamentbase.
Results aren’t updating.
Live updates only occur on the tournament days themselves, and only with an internet connection. Outside this period, pull the tournament list down to reload the current state. If no results come in despite the tournament being underway, the organizer may simply not have entered them yet.
“Something went wrong”
The app ran into an unexpected error. Your tournaments and settings are not affected. Tap Try again and the app will rebuild the view. If the message keeps appearing, close the app completely and open it again. If that doesn’t help either, contact support (Legal notice) and tell us what you did last.
“Tournament no longer available”
The organizer has archived the tournament; the data is no longer on the server. You can swipe the row out of your list.
After an update, tournaments are missing from my list.
Tournaments you added with an old eight-character invitation code can no longer be matched by the server. The app therefore removes them from the list on startup. Just add them again – via QR code, with the Tournament ID or using the search.
The window won’t swipe down to close.
If the window contains a list you’ve scrolled down in, your finger first moves the list. Swipe it all the way up and then further down – or use the X in the top right or Done. In profile management, swiping from a sub-view first only takes you back to the profile list.
No delete field appears when swiping.
Swipe horizontally across the tournament row, from right to left, and far enough – about a thumb’s width. A diagonal or too-short movement is interpreted by the app as scrolling the list. A short tap opens the tournament; it deletes nothing.
The bracket won’t move.
Swipe horizontally within the bracket, not above or below it. Alternatively, tap the arrows at the edge. If the whole bracket already fits on the screen, there’s nothing to scroll and the arrows won’t appear.
A table is empty or matches are missing.
The Show only my teams filter is probably active. Open the jersey icon and turn it off – or tap Adjust filter directly.
There’s no standings table.
Either nothing has been played yet, or the organizer has hidden the standings for this tournament.
The venue can’t be tapped.
In that case, the organizer hasn’t provided a complete address. If Map not available, there’s no maps app on the device.
A result or a name is wrong.
The app only displays what the organizer enters. Please contact them directly.
My tournaments are gone after switching profiles.
Each profile has its own tournament list. Switch back under Settings → Profile to the profile where you added the tournaments.
I reinstalled the app – my tournaments are gone.
The tournament list is stored only on the device and isn’t backed up to an account. Add the tournaments again using their Tournament ID or QR code.
12. Data and Storage
The app doesn’t require an account or sign-in.
- Your tournament list, selected teams, profiles, and all settings are stored encrypted on your device and are not synced with other devices.
- The camera is used exclusively for scanning QR codes.
- The tournament data itself is fetched by the app from the Tournamentbase.com server.
13. Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tournament ID | Identifier made up of letters and digits, used to add a tournament to the app |
| Preliminary round | The group or league phase of a tournament that also has a final round |
| Final round | The deciding round, either as a knockout round or as a final group |
| Bracket | The knockout round displayed as a tree from the first round to the winner |
| Ranking mode | The order of criteria by which the standings are sorted |
| Matchday | One round of a league, often spread across multiple calendar days |
| Profile | Separate area within the app with its own tournaments and settings |
| Archived | Closed by the organizer, no longer accessible in the app |