Open or invitation-only? How youth football tournaments choose their teams

Youth football tournaments build their brackets in one of two ways, and which one an event uses tells you a lot about the football your players will see.

An open tournament accepts any team that is registered with a football association and pays the entry fee, usually first come, first served. Organisers group teams by age and sometimes by a level the clubs declare themselves. Open events are easy to enter and often large, with many teams per age group, which makes them a good choice for a first trip abroad or a club tour built around football.

The drawback is the spread of levels. A strong academy side can meet recreational teams in the group stage, and lopsided scores help neither side.

A closed, or invitation-only, tournament chooses its teams. Organisers look at each academy, its recent results and its reputation, and invite the teams that will make the competition balanced. Brackets are smaller, matches are closer and the organisation is usually tighter, because the organiser's own reputation depends on the level of the field.

Invitations mostly come through relationships: partnerships between clubs, coaches who know each other, good results at earlier events and the recommendation of someone the organiser trusts. That is why newer or smaller academies, even good ones, often find it hard to get in.

• An open tournament suits a first trip abroad, a mixed-ability squad, or a trip where the experience matters more than the opposition.
• A closed tournament suits squads that need consistent, high-level matches, and players who should be seen alongside academies of their standard.

Elite Pass works with closed tournaments. We review academies once and vouch for them with organisers, so a strong academy without the contacts can be considered for events it would not otherwise reach, and organisers get teams of the level they need.