Birmingham
Birmingham sits in the middle of England and in the middle of its football map, with Aston Villa and Birmingham City on the city's own doorstep and a dense web of weeknight 5-a-side leagues beneath them. The MCC Birmingham tournament in 2027 sets up three grounds, in Sutton Coldfield to the north, Solihull to the east and Longbridge to the south. Each crowns a Pitch Champion, with the United Kingdom championship next.
Three grounds, three champions
Two halves of 15 minutes on a stop clock. Every team plays three group matches in a group of four, and the top two go into the playoffs, where a tie level after two halves goes to penalties. Five weeks of football on each ground leave Birmingham with three Pitch Champions, and each goes straight to the Country Championship.
Sutton Coldfield/North
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Solihull/East
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Longbridge/South
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Checking live availability...
Five-a-side across the West Midlands
Birmingham's small-sided game lives well beyond the city centre. Teams book artificial pitches in Erdington, Kings Heath, Handsworth, Northfield and Shirley, and plenty more play in the neighbouring boroughs of Solihull and Walsall. Works teams, mosque and church sides, university groups at Edgbaston and Selly Oak, and friends who have played together since school all fill midweek slots.
Entry rests on three things: amateur status, a squad of up to nine and a named Team President. Nobody has to have played in a particular league first, and a team formed only for MCC stands level with one that has played together for a decade.
The Sutton Coldfield, Solihull and Longbridge grounds
Sutton Coldfield/North is the natural ground for teams in Sutton, Erdington, Kingstanding, Great Barr and along the Cross-City line out of Four Oaks and Butlers Lane. Solihull/East serves Solihull, Sheldon, Hall Green, Acocks Green and the M42 and A45 corridors towards the airport. Longbridge/South covers Longbridge, Northfield, Selly Oak, Kings Norton and the A38 corridor.
A ground holds up to 128 teams and runs a round of its own, so a Birmingham team chooses on journey time. Venue selection goes through the pitch owner programme, one site per ground. Each name will be published here once its agreement is signed, and the ground cards on this page show progress.
April and May in the Midlands, then the country final
April and May in Birmingham are cool and changeable. Three weekends of group matches start on Friday 9 April 2027 and run to Sunday 25 April. Knockout play opens on 30 April, and the three finals take place on 9 May.
A Birmingham Pitch Champion goes on to the Country Championship on 28 to 30 May 2027, facing winners from Glasgow, Newcastle-Gateshead, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and London. A continental stage follows, then the World Final on 7 July 2027, so a team that wins its ground in April can still be playing in July.
How MCC compares with Birmingham's other cups
A city of this size has plenty of one-day competitions, from charity days to company knockout cups. The MCC format differs in length and in reach: a Pitch Round from 9 April to 9 May, a prize of $20,000 for each Pitch Champion, and a ladder that leads out of the city and across the world. It is open to amateur teams only, and a zero-tolerance conduct policy applies to every team.
The road out of Birmingham
- 01 · 9 Apr - 9 May 2027
Pitch Round
Groups of four on every pitch, three group matches each. The top two of every group go into the playoffs, and penalties settle a level playoff tie.
$20,000 - 02 · 28-30 May 2027
Country Championship
The Pitch Champions of each country play for the national title: two halves of 15 minutes, a league table, then the playoffs.
$150,000 - 03 · 2027
Continental Championship
Country Champions compete within their region for a place on the world stage.
$500,000 - 04 · 7 Jul 2027
World Championship
A five-team mini-league, then the World Final: two halves of 15 minutes, penalties if level. One MCC World Champion.
$5,000,000
Questions from Birmingham
How does a team enter MCC in Birmingham?
Register on this site and pick one of Birmingham's three grounds: Sutton Coldfield/North, Solihull/East, Longbridge/South. One Team License per team: USD 1,200 for one year until 1 March 2027 (then 2,500), or 5,000 for three years. Payment and KYC verification follow the application.
When does the tournament start in Birmingham?
The Pitch Round runs 9 April to 9 May 2027 on all three Birmingham grounds. The group matches are played on 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25 April, the playoffs from 30 April, and each ground's final on 9 May. Pitch Champions go straight to the Country Championship on 28-30 May 2027.
How many teams can play in Birmingham?
Up to 384: each of the three grounds takes up to 128 teams, and each needs a minimum of 64 to run its round. A full ground puts an entry on its waitlist instead of turning it away.
What can a Birmingham team win?
$20,000 per Pitch Champion, $150,000 for the United Kingdom title, $500,000 continental and $5,000,000 for the World Champion - plus championship rings from Country level up.
Is Longbridge easy to reach from the city centre?
Longbridge has a station on the Cross-City line and is on the A38, so it is a straightforward journey from New Street by train or car. The ground covers the southern edge of the city, so teams from Northfield, Rubery and Kings Norton are closest.
Which ground suits a team from Solihull?
Solihull/East was drawn for the borough and the east of the city, which includes Sheldon, Acocks Green and Hall Green. A team from Shirley or Knowle would also find it the closest of the three.
Can a team from Walsall or Dudley enter in Birmingham?
The grounds are drawn by area, so a Walsall team would look at Sutton Coldfield/North and a Dudley team at Longbridge/South as the nearest of the three. The choice comes down to journey time for the squad on fixture weekends.
What does a Birmingham team do if its players work shifts?
Entry needs squads of up to nine, which leaves room to rotate around shift patterns. Matches run in 40-minute slots on weekends in April, so a team can plan its squad ahead of the fixtures.
Also hosting in United Kingdom
Nearby in Europe
Claim a pitch in Birmingham
One Team License per team, for one year or three years. Squads of up to 9 are built in the MCC app after licensing. Registration takes the team, its coach and its Team President.
- USD1,200One year
- 5,000Three years