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What a soccer scrimmage is
A soccer scrimmage is a match between two teams outside league play. Many clubs call it a friendly. It can be a full game with halves and a referee, or a relaxed version with rolling subs, shorter halves and no score kept. Coaches use it for preseason prep and to give the whole roster real minutes.
How to find a soccer scrimmage in 4 steps
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Set up your team
Add your team with its birth year, gender (boys, girls or co-ed) and level: recreational, development, competitive or premier. Set your club's travel radius. If you're open to an older or younger opponent, list how far, for example "will play up to 2 years older."
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Find teams that fit
Next Play shows soccer teams that match your birth year, gender and level within your travel radius, so a "soccer scrimmage near me" search also checks the team is a fair game. When your play-up range overlaps another team's, the app shows it. Have a field slot already? Post an open game with the date, time window and field, and matching teams can claim it.
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Send a friendly invite
Pick your team, the date, the kickoff time and who hosts: your field, or theirs. The other club accepts, suggests another time, or declines with a reason. Want a youth soccer friendly with a club you already know that isn't on Play 2 Earn Sports? Invite it by name, and we email that club an invite with one reminder.
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Play, then confirm the score
Confirmed games go on your team's schedule. Use the staff chat for field details and request a referee if you want one. After kickoff, one club enters the score and the other confirms or disputes it within 48 hours.
How long is a soccer scrimmage?
It's up to the two clubs, and the field slot usually decides it. As general guidance:
- Younger U-age teams often play small-sided, for example 7v7 or 9v9, with shorter halves and plenty of rolling subs so everyone plays.
- Middle age groups often play close to their normal league format, sometimes with extra breaks to rotate players.
- Older youth and adult teams often play full halves under normal rules, especially in preseason.
- Many clubs book a 60- to 90-minute field slot and fit warm-up, the game and changeover inside it.
Agree the half length, team size and break in the invite or chat so both coaches plan the same session.
What to agree before the game
Settle these in the staff chat:
- Field and goals. Which field, its size and the goal size for the age group.
- Kickoff and finish time. Including when the next booking needs the field.
- Format. Team size (11v11, 9v9 or 7v7), the number of halves or periods and their length.
- Subs. Rolling subs or normal substitution rules.
- Referee. One center referee, a full crew with assistant referees, or coaches officiating. The host club and the referee agree the fee.
- Score. Whether you keep score and enter it in Next Play, and how a big lead will be handled.
- Jerseys and keepers. Who switches if colors clash, who brings pinnies, and whether goalkeepers rotate.
- Safety. First aid on site, any heading or contact rules your league uses for that age group, and the weather or lightning plan.
Why clubs use Next Play for soccer scrimmages
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Birth-year matching that respects the cutoff
Play-up and play-down ranges show when two teams overlap, so a strong U11 team can find a U12 opponent without guesswork.
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Fewer dead threads
The other club accepts, suggests another time or declines with a reason, so you're not chasing replies all week.
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One staff thread per game
The two clubs' staff message in one thread per game. It's staff only, so players and parents can't read it, and report and block are built in.
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A record you can check before booking
Team records come only from friendlies both clubs confirmed: games, wins-losses-draws, late cancels (less than 24 hours' notice) and no-shows. The Reliable badge needs at least 5 confirmed games, no no-shows and no more than 1 late cancel in the last 12 months. Next Play is free for clubs to use.
Questions
Mostly, yes. Both are soccer games outside league standings. "Scrimmage" often suggests a practice-style game with rolling subs, shorter halves or no score kept, while a "friendly" is usually a full game with a referee. Next Play books both with a friendly invite and keeps the results separate from league standings, so the format is whatever the two coaches agree.
Yes. In Next Play a team can list that it plays up or down a set number of birth years, for example "will play up to 2 years older." When two teams' ranges overlap, the app shows it. Check your league or association for any rules on mixed-age games, and agree team size and field size before kickoff.
Set your club's travel radius in Next Play, then add your team's birth year, gender and level. Next Play lists soccer teams that match within that radius, including teams whose play-up or play-down range overlaps yours. You can send a friendly invite to one of them or post an open game with your field and time window.
That's between the clubs and the referee. In Next Play you can request one referee or a full crew for a booked game. The host club and the referee agree the fee, and Next Play doesn't charge for this. Agree in the staff chat which club requests officials.
No. Friendlies are kept separate from league standings in Next Play. Results do go on your team's Next Play record once both clubs confirm them. One club enters the score after kickoff, and the other confirms or disputes it within 48 hours.
No. Next Play is for adult club staff: club owners, club managers, team managers and coaches the club allows. Players and parents do not use Next Play, and they can't read the staff chat between clubs. Once a scrimmage is confirmed, it goes on your team's schedule, so share the details with your team the way you normally do.
