Agreeing that every child should get fair minutes is the easy bit. Making it happen while you are also coaching, encouraging and keeping an eye on the score is harder. The answer is to do the thinking before kick-off, so that on the day you are following a plan rather than making it up.
Rolling or fixed substitutions
Rolling substitutions
With rolling substitutions a player can come off and go back on again during the match, usually at a stoppage and with the referee's agreement. Most junior small-sided football uses them, though you should check your league's rules.
Rolling subs make fair minutes much easier. You can give everyone short, regular spells on and off, nobody sits out for half the match, and you can adjust as you go.
Fixed substitutions
In older age groups and adult football, a player who comes off may not be allowed back on, and there may be a limit on how many changes you can make. Fair minutes then becomes a question of who starts and who comes on when, and it usually has to be balanced across several matches rather than within one.
The rest of this guide assumes rolling substitutions.
Plan by periods
Break the match into equal blocks and decide who is off in each one. Blocks of five minutes work well for 7v7 and 9v9: short enough that nobody waits too long, long enough that you are not changing players constantly.
The basic sum is simple:
- Multiply the number of players on the pitch by the length of the match to get the total playing minutes.
- Divide by the size of your squad to get an equal share.
- Work out how many blocks each player needs to sit out to land on that share.
- Spread the sit-outs so nobody is off for too long in one go.
A worked example: 7v7, squad of ten, 2 × 25 minutes
Seven players on the pitch for 50 minutes gives 7 × 50 = 350 playing minutes. Shared across ten players, that is 35 minutes each, and 15 minutes on the bench each.
Split the match into ten blocks of five minutes. In each block, three players are off. Ten blocks with three off is 30 sit-out blocks, which shares exactly into three blocks (15 minutes) per player.
The neat way to do it is a rolling one-for-one change every five minutes: each player sits out three blocks in a row, and the sit-outs are staggered so that at every change exactly one player comes on and one goes off. In this plan Noah keeps goal in the first half and Isla in the second, changing over at half-time.
| Time | On | Off | On the bench after the change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-off | – | – | Ava, Ruby, Finn |
| 5' | Ruby | Leo | Ava, Leo, Finn |
| 10' | Finn | Isla | Ava, Leo, Isla |
| 15' | Ava | Sam | Leo, Isla, Sam |
| 20' | Leo | Zara | Isla, Sam, Zara |
| 25' (half-time) | Isla (in goal) | Noah | Sam, Zara, Noah |
| 30' | Sam | Mia | Zara, Noah, Mia |
| 35' | Zara | Ollie | Noah, Mia, Ollie |
| 40' | Noah | Ruby | Mia, Ollie, Ruby |
| 45' | Mia | Finn | Ollie, Ruby, Finn |
And the totals, which are worth checking before you print anything:
| Player | On the pitch | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Ava | 15'–50' | 35 |
| Leo | 0'–5', 20'–50' | 35 |
| Isla | 0'–10', 25'–50' (in goal) | 35 |
| Sam | 0'–15', 30'–50' | 35 |
| Zara | 0'–20', 35'–50' | 35 |
| Noah | 0'–25' (in goal), 40'–50' | 35 |
| Mia | 0'–30', 45'–50' | 35 |
| Ollie | 0'–35' | 35 |
| Ruby | 5'–40' | 35 |
| Finn | 10'–45' | 35 |
Ten players at 35 minutes is 350, which matches the total. Nobody is off for more than 15 minutes in a row, and you only make one change at a time, which is kinder to the shape of the team and easier to manage from the touchline.
This plan counts time in goal as time on the pitch. If you track outfield minutes separately, Noah and Isla will each have 10 outfield minutes. You might balance that by starting them outfield next week. See fair playing time in junior football for more on keepers.
Working with other numbers
The same method works for other squads. With 11 players in a 7v7 match, the equal share is 350 ÷ 11, just under 32 minutes, so the numbers won't be perfectly round. That is fine. Aim to get everyone within a couple of minutes of each other, and make sure whoever ends up slightly short this week starts next week.
With a very small squad, such as eight, only one player is off at a time. Consider fewer, longer blocks so the same children are not constantly running on and off.
Adjusting on the day
No plan survives every match untouched. A few principles keep it fair when things change:
- Late arrivals. Add the player to the rotation from the next change and work out their share from the time they arrived.
- Stoppages. Rolling changes usually need a stoppage. If one doesn't come at the right minute, make the change at the next one and let that player stay on a little longer next time.
- Half-time checks. Compare actual minutes with the plan at half-time. That is the easiest point to put things right.
- Tactical changes. If you want a particular player on for a spell, swap them with someone rather than simply adding minutes. Keep the total fair.
Injuries
If a child is hurt, their welfare comes first and the plan comes second. Bring on whoever is next due on, and don't rush the injured player back just to keep to the schedule. Recalculate from there: the remaining minutes are shared among the players who are still available.
Keep any mention of the injury out of match reports and anything shared publicly. A short, private word with the family is the right place for it.
- 1st half · 10' Sam on for Noah
- 1st half · 20' Mia on for Leo
- Half-time Noah on for Ava, Leo on for Isla
- 2nd half · 15' Ava on for Sam
Every player planned for 30 to 35 minutes
Letting the app do the arithmetic
In Match Report GO, the live Time on pitch view tracks minutes as you log changes and tells you in plain English who is on track and who needs to go on soon. Those detailed comparisons are for staff only.
On Pro, the rotation planner builds a substitution plan like the one above for your match's periods, as long as rolling substitutions are on. You can check what's in each plan on the pricing page.