What an eFTUN cup is
An eFTUN cup is a free online eFootball tournament with a group stage and a knockout stage. You play your matches in the game's own Friend Match mode, and the site does the organising around them: it sets kick-offs, records attendance, collects results, settles disputes and moves the bracket on. There is no entry fee, and eFTUN is not affiliated with Konami.
Two things shape every cup. First, mobile players play each other, and console and PC players play each other, because the game cannot match the two. Second, there is one clock for everyone. A match day starts and ends at the same moment in every country, and every time is shown to you in your own local time with a countdown.
Before you join
- Create a free account and choose your platform.
- Register your exact eFootball username. You will find it in the game under Extras > User Information > User Details. This is your identity on eFTUN. Your team name is not, because it changes freely.
- Use your own account. Second accounts, shared accounts and substitutes are not allowed.
- Pick one cup. You can only play in one cup at a time, public or private, and you can join another once you are out of this one.
Joining the platform means accepting the rules, so read the full rules once before your first match. This guide explains them in order, but the rules page is the one that counts.
The group stage
In the group stage you play each opponent twice in a row on the same day. Those two games share one kick-off and one "I am here" tap, so you only have to turn up once. A win pays 3 points, a draw 1 and a loss 0. A game both players missed pays nobody.
Group games have no extra time and no penalties, so a level game stays a draw. If players finish on the same points, the order is decided by goal difference, then goals scored, then head to head, then a fixed system order. The top two of each group go through to the knockout.
A match day, step by step
- Pick your hours. On the match page, choose the hours that suit you. The first hour you and your opponent share becomes your kick-off. A kick-off less than 6 hours away needs your opponent to have confirmed their hours that same day. You can move it to another hour you both picked: earlier with at least 6 hours of notice, later up to one hour before it starts. If you have no shared hour by 20:00 eFTUN time, kick-off is 22:00 eFTUN time.
- Tap "I am here". The button is open from 15 minutes before kick-off to 15 minutes after. One tap covers both legs. Writing in the chat does not count as attendance.
- Create the room. The first player listed on the match page creates the room: Match > Friend Match > Create 1 vs 1 Match Room. That player then sends the room number in the match chat, and the other player searches for that number to join.
- Check the settings. 6 minutes, rule Normal, Injuries Off, Condition Random for both sides. Group stage has no extra time or penalties. Knockout has both. If the settings are wrong, leave at once and recreate the room. Once a game passes half-time with no objection, the score stands.
- Play. In the group stage, play the two games back to back.
- Enter the result and upload the proof. Each player enters the score without seeing the other. The proof that counts is a full picture of Match History, and one picture can cover both legs. Upload it right after the game, because the list may keep only your last 10 games.
If both results agree, they stand 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.
The knockout stage
The knockout is one game only, with extra time and penalties on. There is no second leg, so there is no way to make up for a bad game. The rules for the result change a little too:
- If the game is decided on penalties, enter the level score and pick the shootout winner. Do not add a goal.
- The second player accepts the result, or rejects it by entering the correct score with a picture.
- If both players attended and no result arrives, you get one extra day. If that happens again, both players are out.
- If both players were absent, both are out and your next opponent goes straight through.
- A player who did not check in goes through only if Match History proves the game was played.
A knockout dispute is settled after a full day by the best reading of the evidence. The owner decides a final.
If you cannot play
Life gets in the way, and the rules allow for that. If you cannot play, forfeit before check-in closes. Your opponent wins 3-0, and no absence is recorded against you. If you simply do not turn up, things go further. When you alone tapped and your opponent enters no result within an hour of kick-off, you win 3-0 and they get an absence. Missing two match days in a cup removes you from it, and your remaining matches go to your opponents.
You can also leave a running cup, and your remaining matches go to your opponents. Four missed games in 30 days, six forfeited games, or leaving 3 cups pauses your registrations for a while. Agreeing to move a match to another day is not allowed, so do not plan around that.
Who does what
It helps to know where the site's job ends and yours begins. The site shows your opponent, your kick-off and the deadline, keeps the standings and moves the bracket on. You pick your hours, tap the button, play the game in eFootball and enter the result. If you and your opponent both do your part, the cup runs by itself, and nobody has to wait for a person to approve an agreed result.
Mistakes that cost players points
- Registering a team name instead of your eFootball username. The pictures are checked against usernames.
- Treating the chat as attendance. Only the button counts.
- Waiting to upload. A late picture may no longer show your game.
- Playing and not entering a result. No result means no points. Nobody gets a free draw for tapping and not playing.
- Trusting a bare clock. Read the time the site shows you and its countdown.
Next steps
Read how results and fair play work, learn how to find Match History, and check how kick-off times work in your time zone. Then create a free account and join the open cup for your platform.