Apps to play pickup soccer in Madrid (and Barcelona, Valencia)
By the Poteau Team · updated
IN SHORT
In Madrid, Spain, the apps with open pickup games worth trying are CeleBreak, GoLevel and Timpik. In Barcelona, CeleBreak and Timpik. Valencia has fewer: use the city-run fields and WhatsApp groups. Poteau has almost no games in Spain yet, so we're telling you up front.
You don't need a team
You need a team that's one player short. And there's almost always someone missing: one gets hurt, one works late, one forgets.
In France, where Poteau has been around longer, half of player-run games are looking for just one or two people.
Madrid
CeleBreak. Open pickup games. Sign up alone or with friends, and teams get picked on the field.
GoLevel. An amateur soccer app, only in Madrid for now. Friendly or more competitive games, with teams balanced by level. Their site says more than 15 games a week.
Timpik. Soccer and padel. Other players post their games and you join. It promises players at your level.
Rather set one up yourself? Fields at the city's municipal sports centers can be booked on madrid.es or in the Madrid Móvil app. Handy for 7v7 with your crew.
Barcelona
CeleBreak and Timpik also have games in Barcelona. To book a field, check the municipal sports centers.
One example: CEM Bogatell, in Vila Olímpica. Its 7v7 field converts into three futsal courts. It's open weekdays from 10 a.m. to midnight, and you book through an app or its online portal.
Valencia
Fewer apps with open games here. GoLevel lists Valencia as its next city, but it isn't there yet.
What works today: the city's sports foundation, the Fundación Deportiva Municipal, has an online booking portal (reservas.fdmvalencia.es). And plenty of fields have their own group of regulars. Ask at the front desk.
With friends: watch who pays
Book it yourself and you pay for the whole field. Even if two people bail the night before.
Join a game and you pay for your spot, that's it. So when there are only a few of you, joining a game costs less than setting one up.
The real question: what's the level?
This is where Poteau helps. It has a level quiz. Pick your position and answer a few questions about your game. You get your Poteau level, from 1 to 10 with one decimal.
Before the result, the quiz asks how you'd rate yourself. More than half of players sell themselves short.
Every player-run game shows its expected level. You know what you're walking into before you sign up.
What about Poteau games in Spain?
Almost none today. What you can do: in Availability, add the time slots when you can play, and your area. When a game fits, you get invited automatically.
You'll be among the first to know when games pop up nearby. And being early matters: in France, a game with two players signed up gets played 8 times in 10.
The Poteau Team