Building a Football Game to Raise Money for a Good Cause

Last Man Standing football game

Building a Football Game to Raise Money for a Good Cause

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a little side project that combines three things I love: football, technology and building things that bring people together.

This project is a web application called Last Man Standingbased on football games I’ve played with friends and colleagues over the years. If you follow the Premier League, chances are you’ve come across it in one form or another.

The concept is simple, which is one of the reasons it works so well.

Every week, players vote one Premier League team won from that round of competition.

If your team wins, you advance to the next week.

If your team draws or loses, you are out of the game.

There is one additional change that makes this strategy interesting: You can only select each team once during that game. So if you use Manchester City in the first week, you can’t choose them again later. This means that players have to think ahead and decide when to use the strongest team.

The game continues week after week until only one player remains.

That person is the last one standing and win the game.

Why I Created an App

The game itself is nothing new. Many football fans already play a version of it via WhatsApp groups, spreadsheets or simple online pools.

But running it manually can be messy.

You have to collect everyone’s picks, check the results every week, eliminate players, keep track of who picked which team, and keep everyone updated. If there are a lot of players involved, this can take time quickly.

So I thought building a small app that automates all that would be a fun challenge.

Players can:

• Register for the game
• Pick their team every week
• Check out upcoming fixtures
• Track who is still in the competition
• See which teams they have used

Behind the scenes, the app handles the rules and automatically eliminates players when their teams fail to win.

Currently, the platform still exists in betawhich means I’m testing features and working out the inevitable bugs that pop up when you build something new. For now, admission is completely free while I gather feedback and improve the experience.

Potential Fundraising Tool

One of the reasons I am so interested in this project is its potential fundraising angle.

Many Last Person Standing competitions usually charge a small entry fee, with the winner taking the entire prize.

But there is another way that can work.

For example, imagine running a game to collect money NICS Welfarea community benefit company that my wife and I help run.

Let’s say the entry fee is £10 and twenty people joined.

It will produce total £200.

A simple model could divide money like this:

• £100 goes into the prize pot
• £100 donated to charity

The winner still receives a meaningful prize, and the game also raises money for a good cause.

Because the rules are simple and the weekly commitment is minimal, these activities are often ones that people are happy to take part in.

Helping Community Groups and Youth Teams

Another area where this may be useful is grassroots sports teams and local organizations. Youth soccer teams, for example, continue to raise funds for things like:

• Equipment and supplies
• Tournament travel expenses
• Rent a field
• Club facilities

Last Person Standing games can be an easy way for clubs to raise funds without having to hold a large event.

Parents, friends and supporters can enter small competitions, and entry fees can contribute to the team’s fundraising goals.

Since the game takes place over several weeks, it also keeps people engaged and talking about the team or club.

Possible Commercial Model

There may also be a commercial version platforms in the future.

For example, standard games may charge a fee £11.50 to enterWhere:

• £10 goes into the prize pool
• £1.50 goes to the platform

That small margin will cover the costs of running the service and maintaining the application.

However, before going that route, I needed to take some time to look into it regulatory sideespecially around gambling regulations in the UK. Games that involve entry fees and prize pools sometimes fall under the supervision of the Gambling Commission, depending on how they are structured.

For now, the focus is just on testing ideas and building platforms properly.

What Happened Next

Over the next few months, I will continue to develop the app and add features.

One idea I’m really interested in is creating special competitions for major tournamentssuch as the World Cup or European Championship. Shorter tournament formats can make for a really fun version of the game.

If this works, I’d love to see community groups, charities and local sports teams use it as an easy way to raise funds.

But first things first: testing.

If you love soccer and want to try the beta, you can check it out here:

lastmanstanding.net

Be careful, if your team draws, you are out.

Useful Links

Season One of Xander – Reflections of a Proud Dad

Improve Your Last Man Football Game Strategy with AI and Data Insights