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Crews for every game
0:00 By the end of this video, you will have a football officials schedule built around crews. Every game has the officials it needs, and every crew knows its field and its kickoff. We will cover crew sizes, positions, crew-first assigning, a worked Saturday with tackle and flag, young officials, and game changes. Then we show how Play 2 Earn Sports helps.
How many officials does a football game need?
0:22 Start with the crew size for each level. Flag games often use one or two officials. Youth tackle games often use three to five. Older games may use more.
0:33 Your association's rules decide the crew size and the positions, so check your association's rulebook. Then write the crew for each division into your league rules.
Positions and the crew chief
0:43 A tackle crew has positions, such as referee, umpire, line judge and back judge. Name a crew chief for each crew, usually the referee. The crew chief confirms the crew and leads the pregame.
Assign crews, not individuals
0:56 Football assigning is calmer when you assign crews as units. A crew that works together often knows its mechanics, and one confirmation covers the whole game. Build crews before the season. Mix experience in each crew, so a newer official works beside a steady partner. Then rotate crews across teams, so every team sees a mix of crews.
A worked Saturday
1:19 Here is a typical example. It is illustrative, not a specific league. One Saturday has three tackle games on Field 1 and eight flag games on Fields 2 and 3. On Field 1, a four-person crew works the nine and eleven o'clock games.
1:36 A five-person crew works the older game at half past one. On the flag fields, one official works each game. Each official takes two short games in a row, then hands the field to the next official. Two flag fields need four officials across the morning.
1:52 That is twenty-one assignments, covered by thirteen officials. The busiest moment is nine o'clock, with six officials on the field at once.
Young officials
2:00 Many football officials start on flag games. Pair a new official with an experienced partner, keep their games short, and follow your association's safeguarding rules. A kind word after each game helps them come back.
The weekly routine
2:14 Assign crews on the same day every week, two to three weeks ahead. The crew chief confirms the whole crew by a deadline. Fill any gap the same day it appears.
When a game moves
2:24 Weather moves football games, and lightning can pause them. When a game moves, the crew chief confirms the new time with the whole crew, or the assignor reassigns. Keep the game on your list of games that need officials until everyone has said yes.
How Play 2 Earn Sports helps
2:41 Now, how Play 2 Earn Sports helps. The league assigns a referee to each league game. The picker hides referees of the wrong sport, and flags anyone below the league's level or on a day off. The referee accepts, declines or hands the game back, and the league sees each game's state.
3:00 Today, the league assigns one official per league game in Play 2 Earn Sports. So assign the crew chief as the game's referee, and your assignor builds the rest of the crew the way they do now, from the same published schedule. For tournament and club games, referees can claim open games their level allows. And each game's referee fee is recorded, so the referee sees what is owed and what has been marked paid. The league or club pays the referee directly.
When a league game moves
3:28 When a published, upcoming league game is moved, postponed or cancelled, the people in that game get a notice. That includes both clubs' staff, coaches, rostered players, linked parents and any assigned referee with an account.
Try it with your own fields
3:42 Set the crew for each level, build crews before the season, assign them as units, and give new officials a kind start. The full guide is on the page linked in the description. Try it with your own fields: Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. Thanks for watching.
Step 1 — write down the crew for each level
Illustrative example, not a specific league. Your association's rules decide; check your association's rulebook.
| Level | Officials per game (typical) | Positions often used |
|---|---|---|
| Flag, younger players | 1 | One official on the field |
| Flag, older players | 2 | Two officials, one on each side |
| Youth tackle, younger divisions | 3 or 4 | Referee, umpire, a linesman or line judge |
| Youth tackle, older divisions | 4 or 5 | Referee, umpire, linesman, line judge, back judge |
| Playoffs and older games | 5 or more | As your association's mechanics set |
Write the crew size and positions for each division into your league rules, so clubs and officials read the same plan.
Step 2 — build crews before the season
- Name a crew chief for each crew, usually the referee. The crew chief confirms the crew, leads the pregame and is the assignor's one contact for that game.
- Mix experience in each crew, so a newer official works beside a steady partner.
- Keep crews together for the season where you can. A crew that works together knows its mechanics.
- Keep a roster per official: days off, certification level, the positions they work, the most games they will work in a day, and how far they will travel.
- Rotate crews across teams, so every team sees a mix of crews. A simple grid of crews against teams, filled as you assign, keeps it fair.
Step 3 — assign crews, not individuals
Assigning a crew as a unit means one decision and one confirmation per game. The assignor places the crew; the crew chief confirms every member.
| Day | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Officials | Update days off for the next three weeks |
| Monday | Assignor | Assign crews two to three weeks ahead: playoffs and the oldest divisions first |
| By Wednesday | Crew chiefs | Confirm every crew member |
| Thursday | Assignor | Fill any gap the same day it appears, from a spare list |
| Friday | Crew chiefs | Confirm field, kickoff and arrival times |
| After the weekend | Assignor | Update fee records and note feedback for newer officials |
Worked example — one Saturday of tackle and flag
Illustrative example, not a specific league. Labels are made up.
Field 1 is a full tackle field. Fields 2 and 3 are flag fields.
| Kickoff | Field 1 (tackle) | Field 2 (flag) | Field 3 (flag) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 | Younger tackle · Crew T1 (4) | Official F1 | Official F3 |
| 9:50 | — | F1 | F3 |
| 10:40 | — | Official F2 | Official F4 |
| 11:00 | Middle tackle · Crew T1 (4) | — | — |
| 11:30 | — | F2 | F4 |
| 1:30 | Older tackle · Crew T2 (5) | — | — |
Check the numbers.
| Check | Count |
|---|---|
| Games | 3 tackle + 8 flag = 11 |
| Assignments | Tackle 4 + 4 + 5 = 13; flag 8 × 1 = 8; total 21 |
| People needed | Crew T1 (4) + Crew T2 (5) + 4 flag officials = 13 |
| Busiest moment | 9:00: 4 + 2 = 6 officials on the field |
| Games per official | Crew T1: 2; Crew T2: 1; flag officials: 2 each |
Crew T1 stays on Field 1 for two games with a break between them. Each flag official works two short games in a row on one field, then hands it over, so newer officials get a full experience without a full day.
Young officials: a kind start
- Start on flag games, often the younger divisions, with an experienced partner nearby.
- Short days: two games in a row, not a full day.
- Feedback that helps: one thing that went well, and one thing to try next time.
- Sideline support: share your club's rule on respectful sideline behaviour, and name an adult at each field who backs the officials up.
- Safeguarding: follow your association's safeguarding rules for young officials.
When weather moves a game
- Agree a weather and lightning policy before the season, and share it with every crew.
- When a game moves, the crew chief confirms the new time with the whole crew, or the assignor reassigns.
- Keep the game on your list of games that need officials until everyone has said yes.
- Send one clear message with the field, the new kickoff and the arrival time.
For a full closure process, see the rainout process from closure to make-up.
Checklist: before you publish the officials schedule
- Crew size and positions written for every division.
- Crews built, with a crew chief and mixed experience.
- Roster current: days off, level, positions, games per day, travel.
- Crews assigned two to three weeks ahead, hardest games first.
- Every crew confirmed by its crew chief.
- Crews rotated fairly across teams.
- New officials on flag games with a partner.
- Weather policy shared with every crew.
Common mistakes
- Assigning individuals one by one. Crews then change every week, and confirmations multiply.
- The same crew for the same team every week. Rotate crews so every team sees a mix.
- Full days for new officials. Two short games and a kind word work better.
- Moving a game without the crew chief. One confirmation covers the crew; skip it and someone arrives at the old time.
How Play 2 Earn Sports supports this
Play 2 Earn Sports keeps officials assignments on the same schedule as the league's games. For the season itself, see a football season on lined fields; for the whole officials picture, see official assignments and fee records.
The game schedule itself comes from the league scheduling software, so every assignment starts from a confirmed slot.
- The league assigns the referee. League staff with referee assignments, such as a referee coordinator, assign a referee to each league game. Referees do not claim league games themselves.
- Checks on every pick. The picker hides referees of the wrong sport and flags anyone below the league's required level or unavailable that day. The league sets the level its games need: any level, or Level 1 to 5 or higher.
- Days off. Referees set the days they can't work, and a referee who blocked a game's date isn't assigned to it.
- Answers you can see. The referee accepts, declines or hands the game back, and each game shows its state: Waiting for referee, Accepted, Declined or Handed back. Referees see their league games in My matches.
- Crews. Today, the league assigns one official per league game in Play 2 Earn Sports. Assign the crew chief as the game's referee, and your assignor builds the rest of the crew the way they do now, from the same published schedule.
- Tournament and club games. Referees see an Open games list for tournament and club games in their sport, and can claim the ones their level allows. That suits a flag jamboree day run as a club event.
- Fee records. Play 2 Earn Sports records each game's referee fee and shows the referee what is owed and what has been marked paid. The league or club pays the referee directly.
- When games move. When a published, upcoming league game is moved, postponed or cancelled, a notice goes to both clubs' staff, the affected coaches, rostered players, linked parents and any assigned referee with an account. It appears in the app and in the teams' existing chats, and by email and push for people who keep those switched on.
See your officials plan on the same schedule as your games.
Frequently asked questions
Often one or two for flag games and three to five for youth tackle, with more for older games and playoffs. Your association's rules decide; check your association's rulebook.
Common positions include the referee, umpire, linesman (or down judge), line judge and back judge. Which positions a crew uses depends on its size and your association's mechanics.
The crew chief, usually the referee, confirms the crew, leads the pregame, and is the assignor's contact for the game.
Build crews before the season, mix experience in each crew, and rotate crews across teams so every team sees a mix of crews. Assign two to three weeks ahead, hardest games first.
Count the games that start together and multiply by the officials per game. Give each official a short block of games on one field, then hand over, and keep one or two spares.
Start them on flag games with an experienced partner, keep their days short, share kind, specific feedback, and follow your association's safeguarding rules.
Today, the league assigns one official per league game in Play 2 Earn Sports. Assign the crew chief as the game's referee, and your assignor builds the rest of the crew the way they do now, from the same published schedule.
Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. Pro is $49.67 USD a month for 11 to 25 teams. Unlimited is $99.67 USD a month for 26 or more teams. For leagues, Starter is free for up to 10 clubs, League Pro is $97.85 USD a month for 11 to 25 clubs, and League Unlimited is $196.35 USD a month for 26 or more clubs. Every feature is on every plan, and players and parents are always included. See pricing.
Related guides
- League scheduling guides: every league scheduling guide in one place.
- How to assign referees in a youth league
- When there are not enough referees
- How to run a flag football league schedule
