One clock for every country
eFTUN is open to players in every time zone, so a cup needs a single answer to one question: when does today end? The answer is eFTUN time, the site's one clock. A match day starts and ends at the same moment for every player in every country. It ends at midnight eFTUN time, which is 23:00 UTC.
eFTUN time is UTC+1 all year. It does not move when clocks change for daylight saving, so if your own country changes its clocks, your local kick-off times shift by an hour and the site's hours do not.
You never have to convert anything
Every time on the site is shown in your own local time, with a countdown that reads the same everywhere. The countdown is the safest thing to look at: "2 hours left" means the same in Tunis, Tokyo and New York. If you and your opponent are comparing notes in the chat, compare countdowns, not clock times. "Kick-off in 40 minutes" cannot be misunderstood.
Rules and articles quote eFTUN time because one number has to work for everybody. The conversion below is only there so you can plan your week.
What eFTUN time means where you live
Here is the default kick-off of 22:00 eFTUN time, which is 21:00 UTC, and the end of the match day at midnight eFTUN time, which is 23:00 UTC.
- UTC+1, such as Tunis: default kick-off 22:00, day ends at midnight.
- UTC+3, such as Riyadh: default kick-off 00:00 the next day, day ends 02:00 the next day.
- UTC+0, such as London in winter: default kick-off 21:00, day ends 23:00.
- UTC-5, such as New York in winter: default kick-off 16:00, day ends 18:00.
- UTC+9, such as Tokyo: default kick-off 06:00 the next day, day ends 08:00 the next day.
Notice what this does to the calendar. A Friday match day in New York runs from 18:00 on Thursday to 18:00 on Friday, in winter. In Tokyo it runs from 08:00 on Friday to 08:00 on Saturday. The date on the fixture is the site's date, so always trust the local time and the countdown over the day name in your head.
How your kick-off is set
Nobody sets a time for you unless you both leave it too late.
- Pick the hours that suit you. The site shows them in your local time.
- The first shared hour becomes your kick-off. Pick several hours and you are more likely to share one.
- You can move it. Move kick-off to another hour you both picked: earlier with at least 6 hours of notice, later up to one hour before it starts. A kick-off less than 6 hours away also needs your opponent to have confirmed their hours that same day. These rules protect your opponent from a sudden change.
- The fallback. With no shared hour by 20:00 eFTUN time, kick-off is 22:00 eFTUN time.
If 22:00 eFTUN time falls in the middle of your night, the fix is simple: pick hours early, and pick plenty of them. Only a pair with no shared hour lands on the fallback. Do not wait until match day to choose. Your opponent may be asleep when you open the page and may see your hours late, so choosing early gives you both time to find a shared hour.
The "I am here" window
Check-in runs from 15 minutes before kick-off to 15 minutes after. One tap covers both legs of a group pairing, and chat does not count as attendance. So a kick-off at 21:00 your time means tapping between 20:45 and 21:15 your time.
If you alone tapped and your opponent enters no result within an hour of kick-off, you win 3-0 and they get an absence. If you both tapped, play. If you cannot play, forfeit before check-in closes: your opponent wins 3-0 and no absence is recorded.
The result deadline
Results close at midnight eFTUN time, and a late kick-off gets 90 minutes from its start. So a game that starts at 23:00 eFTUN time can still take results for 90 minutes, even though midnight falls in the middle.
An agreed result does not need the button: if you played and both enter the same score, it stands at once, even if neither of you tapped. If only one of you tapped, the other has an hour from kick-off to enter a result, or counts as absent. Agreeing to move a match to another day is not allowed.
If the site goes down
If the site itself fails, that day's matches move to the next day and nobody gets an absence.
Common questions
My opponent lives far away. Can we still play? Yes, as long as you share an hour. Look at the hours in your own time and pick everything you can. A morning for you may be an evening for them.
Can we agree a time in the chat instead? Talking helps, but only picked hours set a kick-off. Once you agree on an hour, both of you should pick it on the match page.
Does the match day follow my country's date? No, it follows eFTUN time. That is why your match day may begin the evening before, or end the morning after.
What if we both miss the check-in window? If you played and both enter the same score, it stands at once. With no result, a group game pays nobody. In a knockout, if both players were absent, both are out.
A simple routine for any time zone
- Open your match page the day before and pick every hour you could realistically play.
- Set your own phone alarm for 15 minutes before kick-off. Allow notifications on eFTUN if you want reminders too.
- Tap "I am here" as soon as the window opens, then send a line in the match chat.
- Enter your result and upload the picture straight after the game.
For the full picture, read how an eFTUN cup works or the rules.