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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browserFive-a-Side Team Generator
Paste the names of everyone who turned up and get two fair teams, or three for a rotating mini-league. Balance by skill, split the goalkeepers, and send the result to the group chat.
Keep together / apart (optional)
Add rules and the generator searches for a split that meets every one. If that is impossible it tells you which rule failed.
Earlier draws on this page
Kept in this tab only until you reload.
Fair teams for five-a-side, in a minute
Five-a-side only works if the teams feel fair, and nothing spoils a Tuesday night faster than one side of regulars and another full of people who have not played for a year. Paste the names of whoever turned up and the generator splits them at random, or by skill if you give each player a rating. Teams appear as soon as you press the button, ready to copy into the group chat before the kettle has boiled.
How to use it
- Paste the names, one per line. Add a rating if you want a balanced split, such as
Moe, 7. - Choose 2 teams for a normal game. For 15 players, choose 3 teams for a rotating mini-league.
- Tick First N names are captains if you want your two goalkeepers or two organisers on opposite sides.
- Press Generate teams, then rename each side, for example Bibs and Skins.
Random or balanced?
A purely random split is quick and nobody can argue, but it can produce a lopsided game. If your group has a few very strong players, rate everyone from 1 to 5 and use balanced mode. The generator evens out the average rating of each side and shows the gap. Keep the ratings simple and revise them every few weeks. Where friends are sensitive about being rated, one organiser can enter the numbers privately before screen-sharing the result.
Handling numbers that do not fit
- 10 players: two teams of five. Simple.
- 11 players: teams of six and five. Rotate the extra player in as a sub every few minutes.
- 12 players: two teams of six with rolling subs, or three teams of four for a mini-tournament.
- 15 players: three teams of five. Winners stay on, losers sit out.
- 9 players: teams of five and four. Give the short side a rolling substitute, or the first pick of kick-off.
Ideas for a regular night
Re-roll teams every week so that friendships do not split the group into camps. For a league, keep the same teams for a month, name them and track the table. If you want something to call each side, the team name generator has a sports category. A quick shuffle also works for futsal, small-sided hockey and basketball three-on-three, so change the numbers to suit.
Related tools
For a plain split use the random team generator, or see the balanced team generator for more on ratings. Playing a different sport? Try the kickball team generator. For your favourite club, the Premier League team generator picks a club at random.
- How do I pick fair five-a-side teams?
- Paste the names of everyone who turned up, set the number of teams to 2 (or 3 for a rotating mini-league), and press Generate teams. For a fairer split, add a rating after each name and tick Balance teams by skill rating.
- What if we have an odd number of players?
- Teams differ by at most one player. With 11 players the split is 6 and 5, so decide beforehand who plays an extra sub or rotates in.
- What if we have 12 or 15 players?
- With 15 players choose 3 teams for a rotating format, or choose people per team = 5 for the same result. With 12 players, choose 2 teams of 6 and rotate substitutes.
- Can the two goalkeepers be split?
- Yes. Put the keepers at the top of the list and tick First N names are captains. One goes to each team. In balanced mode the pinned names are not moved by the swaps.
- Can I stop two friends being on the same side?
- Yes. Use Keep together / apart. This is also useful for two strong players you want to split.
- Can I send the teams to the group chat?
- Yes. Copy teams gives you plain text, Download image gives you a picture, and Copy share link gives you a link that shows the same teams.