Chapter 1 · What is NdamBa League
One control center for the whole event.
NdamBa League is a complete platform for running soccer style tournaments of any size and any format. It replaces the whiteboard, the spreadsheet, the group chat, and the handful of single purpose apps most organizers stitch together today. One control center handles the entire journey, and a branded public page keeps players, parents, and fans informed in real time.
It was born from a real event. The Northeast Veterans Tournament ran 11 veteran teams through a two day group stage and a Sunday knockout, with standings and a hand drawn bracket managed on a whiteboard. NdamBa League turns that whiteboard into software that scales from a single community cup to a national circuit.
Chapter 2 · Who it is for
Anyone who organizes competitive soccer.
NdamBa League serves anyone responsible for organizing competitive soccer:
- Youth clubs
- Adult and veterans leagues
- Community and diaspora cups
- Schools and academies
- Regional federations
- National circuits
Organizers get a full control center. Coaches and team managers get rosters, schedules, and chat. Referees get assignments and a fast match console. Players, parents, and fans get a live public page. Sponsors get visibility. Everyone sees the same source of truth.
Chapter 3 · The tournament lifecycle
End to end, the way an event really runs.
The platform follows the real shape of an event, end to end:
- Create the tournament from a template or a custom builder.
- Register teams into divisions, with rosters, coaches, waivers, and online fees.
- Check in and verify player identity and age, then lock rosters.
- Seed and draw pools and brackets, with manual override.
- Schedule fixtures across fields and time slots, and assign referees.
- Play with a live match console that records the official result.
- Compute standings automatically with your tie breakers.
- Advance to knockouts drawn from final group ranks.
- Celebrate with an awards engine and a public portal.
Chapter 4 · Creating a tournament
Start from a template, or build your own.
Start from a proven template, or build your own from scratch. A template seeds the division format, advancement rules, tie breakers, and game format, and everything stays fully editable.
Set the essentials
Name and brand the tournament, set dates, add venues and fields, define divisions, set registration fees, and choose your tie breaker order. Turn the public portal on when you are ready for the world to see it.
Chapter 5 · Divisions and formats
Every common structure, side by side.
A tournament can hold many divisions, each with its own age group, gender, skill flight, and game format. NdamBa League supports every common structure:
- Round robin league
- Single elimination
- Double elimination
- Groups plus knockout
- Pool to Cup, Plate, Bowl
- Swiss
- Multi stage
- Consolation and third place
Per division you can set the game format (for example 4v4, 7v7, 9v9, 11v11), half length, roster size cap, and ball size, so a single event can run little ones and adults side by side.
Chapter 6 · Registration, rosters, and fees
Teams sign up, you stay in control.
Teams apply or register to a division, then build a roster of players and coaches. You can add teams yourself from the manage page, or open registration so teams sign themselves up.
Coaches
Each team manages its coaches by name, role, email, and phone, so schedules and messages reach the right people.
Fees
Set a team registration fee and optional player fees. Teams pay online through the portal, and you track who has paid, who is waived, and who still owes.
Chapter 7 · The player passport
Stop age and identity cheating.
Age and identity cheating is the quiet plague of tournaments. The player passport fixes it. Every player is a league level person who can move between teams across years, but whose identity is verified once and trusted thereafter.
Capture and verify
On a team roster you capture each player's residency and ID. A one click check confirms the name, age, and document, with state aware rules for the kind of ID accepted. You can also set the status by hand.
Flags and review
The system flags anything that needs a second look: duplicate identities, changed information, wrong residency, an unaccepted document, an unverified ID, or an under age player. A dedicated review screen lists every open flag so you can clear a false alarm or confirm a real problem before kickoff.
Chapter 8 · Seeding, draws, and scheduling
Auto draws, manual override.
Seed teams and let the platform auto draw pools and brackets, with manual override whenever you want control. Assign fixtures to fields and time slots, respect rest gaps, and avoid clashes. Referees are assigned to fixtures with their fees tracked.
Chapter 9 · Match day: the live console
The console is the official record.
On match day, the live console is the official record. Enter the score, goals by player, yellow and red cards, and substitutions. Every entry feeds the standings and the public portal instantly.
Chapter 10 · Standings and tie breakers
Standings that compute themselves.
Standings compute themselves from results, live, using the tie breaker order you configured. The classic chain is points, then head to head, then goal difference, then goals for, then fewest goals against, then disciplinary record, then a drawing of lots or kicks from the mark. Rules like a capped goal difference per game are supported.
Chapter 11 · Knockouts and advancement
The bracket draws itself.
When the group stage ends, the knockout draws itself from the final ranks: first in Group A versus second in Group B, and so on. Pool play can split into Cup, Plate, Bowl, and Shield brackets so every team keeps playing. Third place playoffs and consolation rounds are built in.
Chapter 12 · Discipline and suspensions
The rules enforce themselves.
Cards accumulate into automatic suspensions, for example two yellows equal a one game ban, and a red card triggers a ban. Suspended players are flagged at check in, so the rules enforce themselves instead of living in a referee's notebook.
Chapter 13 · Awards
Honors computed from real match events.
The awards engine computes honors from real match events: Champion and Runner up per division, Golden Boot for the top scorer, Golden Glove for clean sheets, MVP or Player of the Tournament by rating and vote, Fair Play for the cleanest record, and an All Tournament team. Coaches and a committee can vote where a vote is needed.
Chapter 14 · The public portal
One branded link for everyone.
Every tournament gets a branded public page with live scores, the schedule, brackets, standings, team and player pages, and awards. It carries your logo and colors, and it is the single link you share with players, parents, and fans.
Chapter 15 · Communication
Slack-grade, and it reaches everyone.
In app chat gives you channels, threaded replies, reactions, and search, organized for organizers, referees, coaches, and announcements. It matches what teams already expect from a modern messenger.
The WhatsApp and SMS bridge
It also goes further. Add phone subscribers to a channel and messages mirror out to WhatsApp and SMS, and replies post back into the channel. A coach who lives in WhatsApp never has to install anything, and never misses a schedule change.
Chapter 16 · Works offline
Mobile first, installable, offline ready.
NdamBa League is a mobile first, installable app. The shell loads offline, and the match day console queues results when there is no signal and syncs them on reconnect, with a clear pending indicator so you always know what is saved.
Chapter 17 · Languages and accessibility
English, French, and Spanish, every screen.
The platform ships in English, French, and Spanish, with every screen translated, and it is designed mobile first so it works on the phone in an organizer's pocket. Light and dark themes are built in and remembered.
Chapter 18 · Your AI assistant
Named by you, answers your teams.
Each tournament has its own AI assistant, named by the owner, that answers teams from a knowledge base you control, in the languages you serve. It handles the repetitive questions so organizers can focus on the event.
Chapter 19 · Security and fairness
Isolated per organizer, gated at the database.
Data is isolated per organizer, with role based access for owners, admins, referees, and coaches, enforced at the database. The player passport protects competitive fairness. Endpoints are gated and tested, and the platform is monitored continuously.
Chapter 20 · Pricing
Start free and pay as you grow.
Start free and pay as you grow. Final pricing is set per region.
| Plan | For | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter (free) | A first cup | One active tournament, public portal, live console and standings. |
| Organizer | Regular organizers | Unlimited tournaments, online registration and fees, player passport and flags, WhatsApp and SMS bridge, your own AI assistant. |
| Federation | Circuits | Regional to national roll up, qualification tracking, priority support. |
Chapter 21 · Getting started and FAQ
Running a real cup the same day.
Create an organizer account, start a tournament from a template, add or open registration for teams, then publish the portal. You can be running a real cup the same day.
Do teams need an account?
Organizers run a full account. Teams can be added by the organizer or can self register. Fans need nothing but the public link.
Can I run several age groups at once?
Yes. A tournament holds many divisions, each with its own format and schedule.
What if the WiFi fails on the field?
Keep recording. Results queue offline and sync when you reconnect.
Which languages are supported?
English, French, and Spanish today, across the whole product.
Chapter 22 · About TaTech
Built on a proven platform.
NdamBa League is built by TaTech and is part of the NdamBa football ecosystem. It shares a platform with TaTech's other products, including shared identity, payments, AI, and a cross app control plane, so it is secure and reliable from day one.