What you need to run a small tournament
Honest equipment list for a 4-8 team tournament. What's essential, what's overkill, and what to spend the medal budget on.
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The total kit list for a small grassroots tournament is shorter than most people think. You don't need a 'tournament kit'. You need about 8 things, most of which you probably already have if you've run a training session.
Here's the honest breakdown — what's essential, what's optional, and where the spending decisions actually are.
The non-negotiable list
You cannot run a tournament without these:
1. Footballs (1 per pitch + 2 spares)
For a 2-pitch tournament, that's 4 footballs minimum. Size depends on age group: size 3 for U5-U8, size 4 for U9-U13, size 5 for U14+. Most grassroots tournaments use size 4 because it covers most age ranges.
Mitre Impel Training Football (size 4)
The default training ball for UK grassroots — durable, the right weight, won't lose shape after a few sessions. Buy a 4-pack and you're set for any tournament. Size 5 also available for older squads.
Check Price →2. Cones (24 minimum, 36 ideal)
For pitch boundaries, goals (if you don't have proper goals), and the warm-up area. 24 cones do a 2-pitch tournament; 36 give you headroom for separate warm-up zones.
Get the cheap plastic cones, not the rubber 'pro' ones. The pro ones cost 4× as much and last 2× as long; the maths doesn't work out at grassroots scale.
Plastic Marker Cones (50 pack)
50 plastic marker cones in a carry bag. Mixed colours so you can mark different zones. The default for any grassroots setup. One pack covers a tournament with room to spare.
Check Price →3. Bibs in distinct colours (1 set per team)
For 4 teams = 4 sets in 4 colours. For 8 teams = 8 sets, but you can rotate so you only need 4-5 sets if matches don't run simultaneously.
Get reversible bibs if budget allows — one bib does two colours, halving the kit you carry.
Mesh Training Bibs (set of 10)
Standard mesh bibs in single colours. You'll need multiple sets — usually 4-6 colours covers most tournaments. Don't bother with branded options at this level.
Check Price →4. Stopwatch or phone timer
Free. Use your phone. There's no reason to buy a dedicated stopwatch in 2026 unless you're refereeing professionally.
5. Way to record scores
Either a printed bracket (free, see how to print a tournament bracket) or the tournament builder on your phone (free, no signup). Don't overthink this.
The 'really nice to have' list
These aren't strictly necessary but they make the tournament feel like a tournament rather than a glorified training session.
6. Medals (1 per child)
The medal moment is the part of the tournament kids remember 6 months later. Don't skip it — our prizes and trophies guide covers exactly how to run that moment well.
Plan one medal per child, not one per winning-team-member. Participation medals matter more than people think — they signal the tournament was an achievement worth marking, not just a competition some kids won.
Budget: about £1-2 per medal at wholesale, £15-30 for 15-20 medals. Buy in bulk in advance, not at the last minute.
Football Medals with Ribbon (pack of 20)
Generic gold/silver/bronze football medals on red-white-blue ribbon. Per-medal cost works out around £1 in bulk. The kids don't care about the engraving — the ribbon and the moment do most of the work.
Check Price →7. A small trophy for the winning team
If you want to differentiate the winning team beyond medals, a small £10-15 trophy works. Don't over-invest — the kids care about it for about 5 minutes, then it goes on a shelf.
Small Football Trophy
Generic small football trophy, around £10-15. Plenty of styles available. If you want it engraved with your tournament name, allow 1-2 weeks lead time. If not, the generic one is fine.
Check Price →8. Whistle
If you have a 'real' referee, they bring their own. If a parent or coach is reffing, give them a cheap pea-less whistle. Don't bother with the 'pro' £15 ones for a kids' tournament.
Pea-less Sports Whistle
Pea-less whistles work better in cold weather (no frozen pea sticking) and don't fail at the worst moment. £3-5 each, buy 2.
Check Price →9. Custom team jerseys (optional upgrade)
Bibs are the default and they're genuinely fine for a one-off tournament. But if you're running an annual event, or teams want something they keep afterwards, custom-printed jerseys are the step up from generic mesh bibs — names/numbers on the back, proper team colours, something the kids actually wear again.
This isn't a per-tournament essential — it's a "nice to have" for organisers who want the day to feel like a real fixture rather than a training session with bibs on. Order 2-3 weeks ahead of the tournament date to allow for customisation and printing lead time.
Custom team jerseys & kit
Custom sports jerseys and team apparel — pick colours, add names and numbers, order per team or per player. Best for annual/recurring tournaments where the kit gets reused, not a one-off event. Note: ordering lead time is longer than generic bibs, so plan ahead.
Get Team Jerseys →The overkill list (you don't need these)
- Branded scoresheets — a notepad and pen works fine, or use the tournament builder on your phone
- Tournament-specific tablets / tech — your phone covers this
- Custom-printed kit / banners — for one-off tournaments, this is a £100+ vanity expense for nobody's benefit
- Pop-up goals — if the venue has goals, use them. If not, cone goals work fine. £80-200 pop-up goals for a one-off tournament aren't worth it.
- Pro stopwatches, refereeing flags — overkill at this level
Equipment cost calculator
Punch in your team count and squad size for a rough shopping list and running total — same rough-estimate approach as the worked example below, just scaled to your own numbers instead of 16 kids.
Total budget for a 16-kid tournament
Rough budget if you're starting from zero:
- 4 footballs: £30-40
- 50 cones: £15-20
- 4 bib sets (40 bibs total): £40-60
- 16 medals: £15-25
- 1 trophy: £10-15
- 2 whistles: £6-10
- Total: £116-170
Most of that (footballs, cones, bibs) is reusable for training across the whole season — the per-tournament cost beyond your existing kit is just the medals and trophy (about £30 for 16 kids).
Where the budget actually goes
The biggest budget question for most tournament organisers isn't 'should I buy this thing' — it's 'should I spend the medal money on better medals or use it on better food/snacks for the kids?'.
Honest answer: medals last forever, food lasts an hour. If you have to choose, choose medals. But if budget allows both, both is the right answer — the kids remember the day for the medal, the parents remember the day for whether the snack situation was organised.
The kids' tournament checklist covers the food strategy in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
What's the minimum equipment needed to run a small tournament?
Footballs, cones for pitch marking, bibs in team colours, a phone timer, and a way to record scores. That's it — most of it doubles as training kit you probably already own.
How much should I budget for a 16-child tournament?
Roughly £116-170 covering footballs, cones, bibs, medals, a trophy, and whistles. Most of that (balls, cones, bibs) is reusable for the whole season — the per-tournament cost is really just the medals and trophy, about £30.
Should I spend more on medals or on food for the kids?
Medals last forever, food lasts an hour — if you have to choose, choose medals. If budget allows both, do both: the kids remember the medal moment, and parents remember whether the snack situation was organised.