Guide
Last updated: March 2026 · 22-minute video
This video covers everything in Capo — from your first match to full automation. You don't need to watch it all at once. Use the chapter list to jump to the parts that matter to you right now.
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Capo is designed to be as simple or as powerful as your group needs it to be. At the most basic level, you can run it entirely as a solo admin — track matches yourself and share stats or match reports with your group on WhatsApp. Nobody else needs to download the app. Or you can invite your players so they can view their own stats, respond to match invitations, and pay for matches directly through the app.
The app has two views: Admin View for managing matches, players, and settings; and Player View for the social side — stats, leaderboards, and chat. Most admins play in the game too, so you can switch between both views using the hamburger menu at the top of the screen. The Help Centre and Discord community link are also accessible from that menu.
Seasons define the period your leaderboards cover. If your group plays year-round, you might set up one season running from January to December. Half Seasons keep the competition fresh — if one player is running away with the title, splitting the season halfway through resets the competitive standings while keeping all the historical match data intact. Match reports show current leaders for both the half-season and the full season.
Deleting a season is completely safe: all your match data is preserved and the stats automatically recalculate. Seasons are simply a way of saying “our competition runs during these dates” — they have no connection to payments.
You don't need to invite players to use Capo — you can run it entirely yourself. But if you want players to respond to match invites, view their own stats, or pay through the app, you'll need to invite them. Share the club's invite link or club code; when a player clicks it and submits their details, their request appears in your admin panel for you to approve. That approval step lets you match them to an existing player profile if they've already played some matches, which prevents duplicate entries.
Each player can be set as a Guest (excluded from leaderboards — useful for occasional visitors who don't need to appear in the stats tables), Retired (still appears in all-time records and history, but removed from active dropdowns and notifications), or a co-Admin with the same management access as you.
Player ratings — goalscoring, defending, stamina, ball control, teamwork, resilience — feed into the ratings-based team balancing method. The Defending rating specifically represents willingness to track back, not just defensive ability — because the last thing you want is a team where nobody comes back.
Creating a match is straightforward: set the date, team size, and whether you're running it manually or with RSVP. In Manual mode, the app goes straight to the Match Control Centre, where you build the player pool by scrolling through your squad or searching by name. You can also create a new player directly from this screen if someone turns up unexpectedly.
Once you've confirmed who's playing, lock the pool and move to the balancing screen. Capo offers three methods:
Fixed Goalkeepers can be set at this stage — they'll be placed on separate teams and their stats will reflect their goalkeeper role rather than outfield play. The Tornado Diagram on the balancing screen shows the current team balance and updates live as you drag and drop players. Once you're happy, save the teams and a notification goes out to everyone in the match.
After the game, enter the result and assign goals to individual players. You can also adjust who actually played — move players between teams, mark someone as absent, or retrospectively set a fixed goalkeeper — without having to undo the whole match setup.
RSVP mode is how most groups use Capo on an ongoing basis. You create the match, it opens for bookings, players confirm their place or join a waitlist through the app, and you balance and send out teams when you're ready. An activity feed shows you everything that happens — who books in, who drops out — so you always know where things stand. You can also share a booking link on WhatsApp for anyone who hasn't downloaded the app yet.
Auto-Pilot takes this further. Once set up, the app manages the entire process without you needing to touch it until the day of the match. Players book in and out, the waitlist is automatically managed, and if you have a tiered booking system (Tier A players get first access, then B, then C) that's handled automatically too. When the pool is full, Auto-Pilot locks it, balances the teams using your chosen method, and sends the team sheet out. If a player drops out, it contacts the next person on the waitlist, rebalances, and republishes. You don't have to do anything until kick-off.
The Player Area is where the social side of Capo lives. After each match, players can see who played, the score, and who scored. The system automatically awards performance badges based on recent form — On Fire for the best performer over a configurable period, Grim Reaper for the worst. Both badges travel with the player until the next match, appearing by their name on every team sheet. Post-match voting lets players vote for Man of the Match, Donkey of the Day, and Missing in Action — you can turn each of these on or off and set how long voting stays open.
The leaderboards cover both the current half-season and the full season, and include a Race for the Title graph showing how the top five players have tracked through the season. The All Time Stats section covers every match ever played in your group, with Feats (records like most goals in a game or longest unbeaten streak) and Legends (season champions and runners-up). Beat a record and it appears in the match report automatically.
The Admin Settings section is the engine room of your club. Most of it you can leave at the defaults — they've been tested across fifteen years of weekly football — but it's worth knowing what's configurable.
Fantasy points can be adjusted: how many points a win, a clean sheet, or a Man of the Match award is worth. Milestone thresholds control when streaks and achievements appear in match reports — goal streaks of three or more, appearance milestones in multiples of 25, and so on. Badge settings let you set the On Fire and Grim Reaper window (for example, last 45 days) and the minimum games required to be eligible.
Balancing weights control how much each attribute factors into the ratings-based method. The default templates (for 5-a-side: one defender, two midfielders, two attackers per team) are a good starting point. Tiered Booking is configured here: set the hours after match creation that Tier A, B, and C players can book, then assign each player their tier from the Players section.
Payments in Capo run through Stripe. Setting up takes around five minutes: connect your Stripe account from the Payments section in Admin, complete the verification screens, and you're live. From there, you can charge a per-match fee (players pay when they book their spot), view revenue and pending refunds, and access your full payment history. Connecting to your Stripe dashboard is available any time from the same screen.
Season Passes let you sell access to all matches in a period for a fixed price — useful if you want to simplify payments for your regulars and reduce the friction of per-match payments. You can run Season Passes alongside per-match payments, so regular players use their pass while occasional players pay per game. Each pass has a name, description, price (what you receive after Stripe fees), an optional sales limit, and a validity date range.