Frequently Asked Questions

Sport Pool is a free prediction pool platform for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Create or join pools with friends, predict match results for all 104 matches, and compete on live leaderboards.

Yes! Sport Pool is completely free to use. Create unlimited pools, invite as many friends as you want, and enjoy all features at no cost.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off on June 11, 2026 and runs through July 19, 2026. The tournament spans approximately five weeks.

The 2026 World Cup features 104 matches in total: 48 group stage matches across 12 groups, followed by 56 knockout round matches including the Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, Third Place Match, and the Final.

The 2026 World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Matches will be played across venues in all three countries.

After signing up, go to your dashboard and click "Create Pool." Follow the setup wizard to choose a tournament, name your pool, set a prediction deadline, configure privacy settings, and customize scoring rules. Your pool is ready in under a minute.

You need a pool code from the pool creator. Go to your dashboard, click "Join Pool," and enter the code. You'll be added to the pool and your first entry is created automatically.

Absolutely! You can join as many pools as you want with a single account. Each pool has its own leaderboard and scoring settings, so you can compete in different groups at the same time.

Every pool has a unique code that the admin can share with friends. It's the key to joining a pool. Pool admins can find the code in their pool settings or share it directly.

Public pools allow anyone with the pool code to join immediately. Private pools require admin approval after requesting to join. Both types use a pool code for access.

Pool admins can allow members to submit multiple sets of predictions (up to 10 entries per member). Each entry is scored independently and appears as its own row on the leaderboard. For example, you could have a "Serious" entry and a "Fun" entry.

Navigate to your pool and click on your entry to access the predictions flow. You'll predict scores for each stage: group matches, Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, and the Final. Enter your predicted home and away scores for each match.

Each pool admin sets their own prediction deadline, usually before the tournament starts. You can see the deadline on the pool details page. Make sure to submit your predictions before this date.

Yes, you can edit your predictions as many times as you want before the pool's deadline. Once the deadline passes, predictions are locked and can no longer be modified.

If you have draft predictions when the deadline passes, they will be automatically submitted for you. If you haven't made any predictions, you can still view the pool and leaderboard, but you won't be able to submit or earn points.

For knockout rounds, you predict the full-time score for each match. The teams in knockout matches are determined by your group stage predictions, so your bracket builds automatically based on which teams you predict to advance.

When enabled by the pool admin, you can predict penalty shoot-out scores for knockout matches that end in a draw. PSO predictions earn bonus points on top of your full-time score prediction. This adds an extra layer of strategy to knockout rounds.

Points are awarded based on how close your predictions are to actual match results. By default, you earn 5 points for an exact score, 3 points for the correct goal difference, and 1 point for predicting the correct winner. Pool admins can customize all point values.

Pool admins can set multipliers for knockout rounds to increase the stakes as the tournament progresses. For example, a 2x multiplier on the Final means all points earned for that match are doubled.

Bonus points reward you for accurately predicting broader tournament outcomes beyond individual match scores. These include group standing bonuses, bracket pairing accuracy, match winner predictions, and tournament podium predictions (champion, runner-up, third place).

After all group matches are complete, you earn bonus points for correctly predicting which teams finish first and second in each group. The default awards 150 points for getting both the winner and runner-up correct, with partial credit for getting one or both in the wrong position.

You can earn significant bonus points for predicting the overall tournament outcome. By default, correctly predicting the champion earns 1,000 points, with additional points for the runner-up and third place finisher.

Yes! Pool admins have full control over all scoring settings. They can adjust match point values, knockout multipliers, bonus point amounts, and enable or disable features like PSO predictions. This lets every pool tailor the competition to their group.

Click "Sign Up" and enter your full name, a unique username, email address, and password. Your username is how other pool members will see you on leaderboards.

Your username is set during signup and is used to identify you across all pools. Currently, usernames cannot be changed after account creation, so choose wisely!

Visit the Profile page from the navigation menu. You can view your account details, see all the pools you've joined, review your prediction history, and track your overall performance across all pools.

Go to Profile → Settings and choose "Delete Account." Deleting your account removes your pool memberships, entries, predictions, scores, and chat messages. Some records may be retained in anonymized form for analytics or legal compliance. This action cannot be undone.

Go to Profile → Notifications to toggle email categories on or off — pool activity, predictions, match results, leaderboards, admin messages, and community updates can each be controlled separately. Broadcast emails also include an unsubscribe link at the bottom.

Emails fall into six categories: Pool Activity (member joins, invites, pool updates), Predictions (deadline reminders, confirmations), Match Results (scores and points earned), Leaderboard (rank changes, weekly recaps), Admin (settings changes, member actions), and Community (mentions and broadcasts).

Yes. Each of the six email categories can be turned on or off independently from Profile → Notifications. You can also use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any broadcast email to opt out of that type immediately.

You can turn off every notification category from your profile settings. Some essential account emails (such as password resets and confirmations you explicitly request) will still be sent because they are required to operate your account.

Every pool has a built-in chat where members can talk, trash-talk, react with emoji, pin important messages, and @mention each other. Chat is a great way to keep the group engaged between matches.

Chat messages, reactions, pins, and @mentions are visible to every member of that pool. Pool admins and Sport Pool super admins may also view chat content for moderation. Messages are not shared with members of other pools.

Yes. Pool admins can remove messages and members that violate our Acceptable Use rules. Sport Pool may also remove content or accounts at our discretion if they break our Terms of Service.

No. Sport Pool is free and does not process payments. We are not a payment processor and we do not collect, hold, or disburse money.

Any entry fee or prize arrangement is organized off-platform by the pool admin — typically using an external payment app like Venmo, PayPal, or cash. Sport Pool provides only an optional tool for admins to mark each member's entry as paid or unpaid. We are not a party to fee or prize arrangements, and any dispute is between the members and the admin.

A branded pool is a white-labeled pool operated by an organization with a custom name, logo, color, and landing page. Branded pools work the same as regular pools — predictions, leaderboards, chat, and scoring are all available — but feature the sponsor's branding. All platform rules and Acceptable Use policies still apply inside branded pools.