Leeds
Leeds is a football city with Elland Road at its southern edge and a big student and working population who play small-sided games all week. The 2027 Leeds tournament is organised in three grounds, North Leeds, East Leeds and Morley/South, each with room for 64 to 128 amateur 5-a-side teams. Every ground crowns a Pitch Champion, and the winners go on to the United Kingdom championship in May.
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 Leeds with three Pitch Champions, and each goes straight to the Country Championship.
North Leeds
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
East Leeds
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Morley/South
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Checking live availability...
Where Leeds plays its midweek games
In Leeds the weekday game is mostly played on floodlit artificial pitches around the ring road and the outer suburbs: teams from Headingley and Hyde Park who started at university, office sides from the city centre, groups from Chapel Allerton, Seacroft and Beeston who have played together for years. Evenings from April onward are light, which makes the format easy to fit in.
A squad of up to nine, a Team President and a Team License is all an entry needs. The tournament is for amateur teams, and a side that has only just been formed is as welcome as one with a long league record.
North Leeds, East Leeds and Morley
North Leeds is the ground for teams around Headingley, Chapel Allerton, Roundhay, Moortown, Adel and Horsforth, with the A660 and the Harrogate and Wharfedale rail lines as the usual routes. East Leeds serves Seacroft, Crossgates, Whinmoor, Garforth and the Selby road corridor. Morley/South covers Morley, Rothwell, Beeston, Middleton and Churwell, close to the M621 and M62.
Teams pick the ground nearest to where their players live and work. Every ground is to have a single venue, selected from pitch owner applications. The cards above show which are in place, and each venue is announced on this page as soon as its agreement is signed.
Spring dates, and Leeds teams on the national stage
April in West Yorkshire is cool, bright and now and then wet. Group fixtures take the weekends of 9, 16 and 23 April 2027. Knockouts begin on 30 April and each ground ends its round with a final on 9 May. Evenings are lighter by then, which helps weekday training.
Leeds Pitch Champions meet the winners from Newcastle-Gateshead, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and London at the United Kingdom championship, 28 to 30 May 2027. Then comes the continental stage and the World Final on 7 July 2027, so a Leeds side could be playing into July.
A season in place of a Sunday cup
Yorkshire has no shortage of Sunday cups and charity days. This tournament is longer: a Pitch Round from 9 April to 9 May with a fixed format, $20,000 for every Pitch Champion and a zero-tolerance conduct policy. Only amateur teams can enter, and the team's President is the person named on the entry.
The road out of Leeds
- 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 Leeds
How does a team enter MCC in Leeds?
Register on this site and pick one of Leeds's three grounds: North Leeds, East Leeds, Morley/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 Leeds?
The Pitch Round runs 9 April to 9 May 2027 on all three Leeds 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 Leeds?
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 Leeds 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.
Can a student team from Leeds enter?
Yes, as long as the team is amateur and has a Team President named on the entry. Students from the universities near Headingley and Woodhouse will find North Leeds the closest ground.
Is Morley/South only for teams from Morley?
No. The name shows the part of the city the ground serves, and teams from Beeston, Rothwell, Middleton and the surrounding area are equally close. Morley is only where the ground is centred.
What if a Leeds team has fewer than nine players?
A squad is up to nine players, and five are on the pitch at a time. A bench of one or two helps over a weekend with several matches, and the Team President decides who plays.
Do Bradford or Wakefield teams enter at Leeds?
Grounds are drawn by area, so Bradford teams are likely to look at North Leeds or East Leeds, and Wakefield teams at Morley/South, as the nearest of the three grounds.
Also hosting in United Kingdom
Claim a pitch in Leeds
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