Friendly
A friendly is any game that is not a competitive match.
The main point of friendlies is to maximise training, or keeping your substitutes in a hopefuly better form. There is also some gate income, but it is quite low compared to an official league match.
A popular thing to do in friendly matches is flag chasing, where you visit a new country every week.
Contents
Effects
Players can gain a tiny amount of experience, much lower than the amount of experience from a league match (see article for the formula).
They might also get injured while playing that match.
However, the outcome of the match has NO effect on:
and suspensions do not apply in friendly games, and red/yellow cards do not carry over to league games.
Income
The income is split evenly among the two teams.
The amount of spectators who attend a friendly match is significantly lower than the amount of spectators who attend a regular league match, so it could give just a little help to your economy. It is rare to spot friendlies with over 5 000 spectators (even among teams from the top divisions).
The attendance will be slightly higher if the match is an international friendly.
Match types
The friendlies can be played using two different kind of rules:
Normal
- If the match ends in a draw, no extra time or penalties will be played.
- The amount of attendance is lower than a cup rules friendly.
Cup rules
- If the match ends in a draw, extra time and penalties (if needed) will be played.
- The attendance of the match is higher than a normal friendly.
Venue
National friendly
A National Friendly is a match that is played mid-week with another team in your club's home country. It will earn your players about 1/10 the experience they would earn in a League Match and about 1/2 the experience they would earn in an International Friendly.
It costs nothing to play a friendly against a team in your home country. However, less spectators will watch your match than if you were playing an International Friendly. Spectator income is split evenly between the visiting and home clubs (as in International Friendlies).
Neutral ground
The term "Neutral Ground" refers to an arena where a match takes place, but which neither team playing the match owns. The owner of the "Neutral Ground" does not receive any monetary compensation for allowing the other two players to use his arena.
Note that matches played on "neutral ground" will not earn a flag for either of the participating teams, unless the match is held in one team's home country (in which case the away team will earn a flag).
International friendly
International friendlies cost each 6 000 (in $ or €). These types of friendlies can have some benefits, though. Many users choose to play matches abroad in order to collect flags (many of these players belong to the Flag Chasers Community). Your players will also gain about twice the experience they would usually receive in a National Friendly. International friendlies can also provide an opportunity to meet different types of players in different countries and cultures.
The times specified below indicates the earliest possible start time for international friendlies. There can be delays for various reasons, and all the updates, as well as matches, take time to complete. Precisely how long varies depending on how many teams there are in the league and on the type of update.
| Country | Area | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 Deutschland |
Europe | Tuesday | 18:30 and 18:25 (cup rules) |
 Misr |
Africa | Tuesday | 18:50 |
 Italia |
Europe | Tuesday | 19:15 and 19:20 (cup rules) |
 Slovensko |
Europe | Tuesday | 19:25 |
 Slovenija |
Europe | Tuesday | 19:30 |
 Angola |
Africa | Tuesday | 19:40 |
 Liechtenstein |
Europe | Tuesday | 19:50 |
 Suomi |
Europe | Tuesday | 20:20 and 20:25 (cup rules) |
 Cyprus |
Europe | Tuesday | 20:15 |
 Israel |
Asia | Tuesday | 20:30 |
 Shqiperia |
Europe | Tuesday | 20:45 |
 England |
Europe | Tuesday | 21:00 |
 Cymru |
Europe | Tuesday | 21:30 |
 Bulgaria |
Europe | Tuesday | 22:00 |
 Northern Ireland |
Europe | Tuesday | 22:15 |
 Bolivia |
America | Tuesday | 22:45 |
 Paraguay |
America | Tuesday | 23:15 |
 Ecuador |
America | Tuesday | 23:45 |
 Hanguk |
Asia | Wednesday | 02:00 |
 Nippon |
Asia | Wednesday | 02:30 |
 Chinese Taipei |
Asia | Wednesday | 03:00 |
 Pilipinas |
Asia | Wednesday | 03:30 |
 Oceania |
Oceania | Wednesday | 04:00 |
 Singapore |
Asia | Wednesday | 04:30 |
 Brunei |
Asia | Wednesday | 05:00 |
 Malaysia |
Asia | Wednesday | 05:00 |
 Việt Nam |
Asia | Wednesday | 05:15 |
 Prateh Kampuchea |
Africa | Wednesday | 05:15 |
 Prathet Thai |
Asia | Wednesday | 05:30 |
 India |
Asia | Wednesday | 06:00 |
 Dhivehi Raajje |
Asia | Wednesday | 06:00 |
 Pakistan |
Asia | Wednesday | 06:15 |
 Bangladesh |
Asia | Wednesday | 06:30 |
 China |
Asia | Wednesday | 07:00 |
 South Africa |
Africa | Wednesday | 07:15 |
 Kyrgyz Republic |
Asia | Wednesday | 07:30 |
 Indonesia |
Asia | Wednesday | 07:45 |
 Mongol Uls |
Asia | Wednesday | 07:50 |
 Türkiye |
Europe | Wednesday | 08:00 |
 Ukraina |
Europe | Wednesday | 08:15 |
 Rossiya |
Europe | Wednesday | 08:30 |
 Hrvatska |
Europe | Wednesday | 08:45 |
 Belarus |
Europe | Wednesday | 09:15 |
 Österreich |
Europe | Wednesday | 09:30 |
 Hellas |
Europe | Wednesday | 09:45 |
 Magyarország |
Europe | Wednesday | 09:45 |
 România |
Europe | Wednesday | 10:00 |
 Severna Makedonija |
Europe | Wednesday | 10:15 |
 Schweiz |
Europe | Wednesday | 10:45 and 10:50 (cup rules) |
 Al Maghrib |
Africa | Wednesday | 10:45 |
 Algérie |
Africa | Wednesday | 10:50 |
 Hong Kong |
Asia | Wednesday | 11:00 |
 Kenya |
Africa | Wednesday | 11:15 |
 Tanzania |
Africa | Wednesday | 11:15 |
 Scotland |
Europe | Wednesday | 11:30 |
 Bénin |
Africa | Wednesday | 11:45 |
 Nigeria |
Africa | Wednesday | 11:45 |
 Senegal |
Africa | Wednesday | 11:50 |
 Crna Gora |
Europe | Wednesday | 11:55 |
 Kazakhstan |
Asia | Wednesday | 12:10 |
 Eesti |
Europe | Wednesday | 12:15 |
 España |
Europe | Wednesday | 12:25 and 12:30 (cup rules) |
 Srbija |
Europe | Wednesday | 12:45 |
 Lietuva |
Europe | Wednesday | 13:15 |
 Belgium |
Europe | Wednesday | 13:30 and 13:00 (cup rules) |
 Latvija |
Europe | Wednesday | 13:45 |
 Česká republika |
Europe | Wednesday | 14:00 |
 Bosna i Hercegovina |
Europe | Wednesday | 14:15 |
 Sakartvelo |
Asia | Wednesday | 14:20 |
 Azərbaycan |
Asia | Wednesday | 14:25 |
 O'zbekiston |
Asia | Wednesday | 14:30 |
 Hayastan |
Asia | Wednesday | 14:40 |
 Lëtzebuerg |
Europe | Wednesday | 14:45 |
 France |
Europe | Wednesday | 15:20 and 15:25 (cup rules) |
 Andorra |
Europe | Wednesday | 15:15 |
 Iran |
Asia | Wednesday | 15:45 |
 Norge |
Europe | Wednesday | 16:00 |
 Al Kuwayt |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:10 |
 Dawlat Qatar |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:10 |
 Palestine |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:15 |
 Saudi Arabia |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:20 |
 Uganda |
Africa | Wednesday | 16:20 |
 Al Iraq |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:25 |
 Danmark |
Europe | Wednesday | 16:30 |
 Suriyah |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:35 |
 Al Yaman |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:35 |
 Oman |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:40 |
 Moçambique |
Africa | Wednesday | 16:40 |
 Tounes |
Africa | Wednesday | 16:45 |
 Føroyar |
Europe | Wednesday | 16:45 |
 Bahrain |
Asia | Wednesday | 16:50 |
 Malta |
Europe | Wednesday | 17:15 |
 Nederland |
Europe | Wednesday | 17:20 and 17:25 (cup rules) |
 Lubnan |
Asia | Wednesday | 17:40 |
 Moldova |
Europe | Wednesday | 17:45 |
 Polska |
Europe | Wednesday | 17:55 |
 Cabo Verde |
Africa | Wednesday | 18:25 |
 Ghana |
Africa | Wednesday | 18:25 |
 Al Urdun |
Asia | Wednesday | 18:40 |
 United Arab Emirates |
Asia | Wednesday | 18:45 |
 Cameroon |
Africa | Wednesday | 18:55 |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
Africa | Wednesday | 18:55 |
 Sverige |
Europe | Wednesday | 20:00 |
 Ireland |
Europe | Wednesday | 20:15 |
 Ísland |
Europe | Wednesday | 20:45 |
 Portugal |
Europe | Wednesday | 21:55 and 22:00 (cup rules) |
 Barbados |
Europe | Wednesday | 22:10 |
 Jamaica |
America | Wednesday | 22:15 |
 Trinidad & Tobago |
America | Wednesday | 22:20 |
 Chile |
America | Wednesday | 22:50 |
 Canada |
America | Wednesday | 23:00 |
 Cuba |
America | Wednesday | 23:15 |
 República Dominicana |
America | Wednesday | 23:15 |
 Suriname |
America | Wednesday | 23:10 |
 Venezuela |
America | Wednesday | 23:30 |
 Nicaragua |
America | Wednesday | 23:40 |
 Costa Rica |
America | Wednesday | 23:45 |
 Brasil |
America | Thursday | 00:00 |
 Panama |
America | Thursday | 00:15 |
 Uruguay |
America | Thursday | 00:30 |
 Colombia |
America | Thursday | 00:50 |
 USA |
America | Thursday | 01:00 |
 Guatemala |
America | Thursday | 01:10 |
 Honduras |
Asia | Thursday | 01:15 |
 El Salvador |
America | Thursday | 01:45 |
 México |
America | Thursday | 02:00 |
 Perú |
America | Thursday | 02:15 |
 Argentina |
America | Thursday | 03:00 |
Considerations
Profitability
For clubs of the lowest division in large leagues (e.g. Netherlands, Spain, Italy or Germany) international friendlies (away) are not recommendable. The travelling costs will be higher then the spectator income of the match. Those teams should play friendly matches against higher division teams in their own country or international friendlies in their own stadiums. The economic effect is also important here.
example (german XI. division team):
spectators in series games:
2175
1230
2247
1243
1104
Spectators in a friendly against a IV. division team:
985
