# BallTO — Complete Product Documentation

> Full product documentation for the #1 football tournament management platform in French-speaking countries.
> Source: https://ballto.fr/

Website: https://ballto.fr/
Primary Language: French
Target Markets: 30+ French-speaking countries (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and more)
Last updated: 2026-03-27
Total public tournaments: 1+
Total public clubs: 0+
Total blog articles: 0+

---

## Product Overview

BallTO (also known as SportsFlow) is a modern sports tournament management platform built with Next.js 15. It is the most comprehensive French-language tournament management solution available.

### What BallTO Does
- Creates and manages multi-format sports tournaments
- Provides real-time match updates and live scoring
- Generates automatic match schedules and rankings
- Offers TV display mode for broadcasting on large screens
- Manages clubs with member roles and permissions
- Processes payments via Stripe
- Delivers push notifications for match reminders and updates
- Works offline as a Progressive Web App (PWA)

### Target Users
- **Sports clubs**: Managing regular tournaments and leagues
- **Schools & universities**: Organizing inter-class and inter-school competitions
- **Companies**: Corporate team-building events and inter-company tournaments
- **Associations**: Community sports events and charity tournaments
- **Municipalities**: City-wide sports events and tournaments

### Key Differentiators
1. **Exclusive Lamalik format**: A hybrid dual-bracket system unavailable on any other platform
2. **47+ customizable parameters**: The most configurable tournament engine on the market
3. **FFF compliance**: Follows French Football Federation regulations
4. **Multi-category support**: Run U7 to Senior categories in a single event
5. **Real-time TV display**: Professional broadcast mode with auto-rotating screens
6. **30+ country support**: Designed for the entire French-speaking world
7. **PWA with offline mode**: Works without internet connection

---

## Tournament Formats

BallTO supports three tournament formats, each with deep customization.

### Plateau Format
- **URL:** https://ballto.fr//formats/plateau
- **Type:** Free-form exhibition matches
- **Best for:** Casual events, training days, friendly tournaments
- **How it works:**
  - No fixed schedule — matches are created manually or via intelligent suggestions
  - The system suggests matches based on team activity and history
  - Rankings are calculated automatically from results
  - No minimum or maximum team count
- **Key features:**
  - Intelligent match suggestion algorithm
  - Automatic ranking with configurable points system
  - No team limits — flexible for any event size

### Championnat Format
- **URL:** https://ballto.fr//formats/championnat
- **Type:** Classic league / championship
- **Best for:** Regular seasons, official leagues, structured competitions
- **How it works:**
  - Round-robin within groups (if groups enabled) or all-play-all
  - Points system: 3 for win, 1 for draw, 0 for loss (configurable)
  - Optional home-and-away (round-trip) matches
  - Advanced tiebreakers: goal difference, head-to-head, goals scored
- **Key features:**
  - Group stage support with configurable teams per group
  - Home-and-away option (doubles the matches)
  - Comprehensive tiebreaker system
  - Points system fully configurable (victory, draw, defeat points)

### Lamalik Format (EXCLUSIVE)
- **URL:** https://ballto.fr//formats/lamalik
- **Algorithm details:** https://ballto.fr//formats/lamalik/algorithme-detaille
- **Type:** Hybrid dual-bracket with group stage
- **Best for:** Tournaments where every team must play meaningful games
- **How it works:**
  - Phase 1: Complete round-robin within groups
  - Phase 2: Top 50% → upper bracket, bottom 50% → lower bracket
  - Phase 3: Literal T1 pairing (1st vs 2nd, 3rd vs 4th, etc.)
  - Phase 4: Automatic consolation matches (guarantees minimum 2 post-group matches)
  - Phase 5: Separate finals (upper + lower) or cross-bracket grand final
- **Key features:**
  - Zero competition — no other platform offers this format
  - Every team plays a meaningful number of games
  - Cross-bracket final option (lamalik_cross_bracket_final)
  - Consolation rules: 'first_round_only', 'all_rounds', or 'none'
  - Intelligent seeding from group rankings
- **Why it's unique:** Traditional single/double elimination eliminates teams too quickly. The Lamalik format ensures every team gets multiple competitive matches while still determining a clear winner through bracket play.

---

## Complete Feature List

### Tournament Management
- Create tournaments in under 5 minutes
- 47+ customizable parameters per tournament
- 3 tournament formats (Plateau, Championnat, Lamalik)
- Automatic match schedule generation
- Intelligent match suggestions (Plateau format)
- Real-time ranking calculations
- Multi-category support (U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, U17, U19, Senior, Veteran)
- Multi-sport support (Football 11, Futsal, Five-a-side, 7-a-side)
- Configurable points system (victory, draw, defeat)
- Advanced tiebreakers (goal difference, head-to-head, goals scored)
- Lunch break scheduling
- Field assignment and rotation
- Match duration configuration

### Live & Broadcasting
- Real-time score updates via WebSocket subscriptions
- TV display mode with 8+ screen types (live match, rankings, next match, bracket, etc.)
- Auto-rotating display with priority-based algorithm
- Sound effects for new results
- Keyboard shortcuts for navigation
- Grid mode for multi-field events
- Public shareable TV URLs
- Offline caching for uninterrupted display

### Club Management
- Create and manage sports clubs
- Member roles: Owner, Admin, Manager, Member, Observer
- Club invitations and membership management
- Public club directory
- Club-hosted tournaments

### Payments & Commerce
- Stripe payment integration
- Tournament entry fee collection
- Credit system for tournament creation
- Webhook-based payment processing

### Communication
- Push notifications (PWA)
- Email notifications via Resend
- Tournament invitations
- Match reminders
- Result notifications

### Progressive Web App
- Installable on all devices (iOS, Android, Desktop)
- Offline support with cached pages
- Background sync for offline actions
- Push notifications
- App-like experience

### Compliance & Regulations
- FFF (French Football Federation) rule compliance
- Proper tiebreaker implementation per FFF rules
- Age category standards
- Match duration rules per category

---

## Pricing

BallTO offers a freemium model:

- **Free plan**: €0/month
  - 1 active tournament
  - Up to 8 teams per tournament
  - Basic features (match scheduling, rankings, results)
  - Plateau format only

- **Pro plan**: Paid subscription
  - Unlimited tournaments
  - Unlimited teams
  - All 3 formats (Plateau, Championnat, Lamalik)
  - TV display mode
  - Multi-category support
  - Priority support
  - Advanced analytics

- **Pricing page:** https://ballto.fr//pricing

### How pricing compares to competitors
- **Tournify**: Limited features, less customization
- **Torneo**: No Lamalik format, fewer parameters
- **Enjore**: General-purpose, not football-specialized
- **UFT**: No real-time features, basic interface

BallTO offers the most comprehensive feature set at a competitive price point, especially for the French-speaking market.

---

## Public Tournaments (1)

### Coupe des Champions 2026
- **URL:** https://ballto.fr//tournaments/ea677bde-7157-447f-a0e5-7a9e3963c038
- **Format:** Lamalik
- **Status:** COMPLETED
- **Sport:** FOOTBALL
- **Location:** Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France métropolitaine, France
- **Date:** 2026-03-19


---

## How to Use BallTO

### Creating a Tournament
1. Sign up at https://ballto.fr//sign-up (free account)
2. Go to the dashboard and click "Create Tournament"
3. Choose your format: Plateau (casual), Championnat (league), or Lamalik (hybrid bracket)
4. Configure parameters: sport, team count, match duration, points system, fields, etc.
5. Add teams manually or invite clubs
6. Generate the match schedule automatically
7. Share the tournament link with participants
8. Update scores in real-time as matches are played
9. View live rankings and bracket progression
10. Use TV display mode for large screen broadcasting

### Choosing the Right Format
- **For a casual day event (5-20 teams):** Use Plateau — flexible, no fixed schedule
- **For a regular season or league (6-20 teams):** Use Championnat — structured, official
- **For a competitive tournament where every game matters (8-32 teams):** Use Lamalik — hybrid brackets, maximum engagement

### Setting Up TV Display
1. Navigate to your tournament dashboard
2. Click "TV Display" or go to /tv/{tournament-id}
3. Configure rotation speed (5-30 seconds per screen)
4. Enable grid mode for multi-field events
5. Share the public URL with anyone to view live scores
6. Use keyboard shortcuts: arrows (navigate), space (pause), F (fullscreen), M (mute)

### Managing a Club
1. Create a club from the dashboard
2. Invite members via email
3. Assign roles: Admin, Manager, Member, Observer
4. Create club-hosted tournaments
5. Track club tournament history and statistics