How to Set Up a Prediction League With Strangers Online

**TL;DR: **Setting up a prediction league with strangers online needs four things: a hosting platform that handles the scoring, a recruiting channel like Reddit or a Discord server, clear ground rules for what counts and what does not, and a group chat to keep everyone engaged. Strangers leagues are often more competitive than friends leagues because nobody is taking it easy.

Most prediction leagues run with mates, family, or workmates. But there is a strong case for setting one up with strangers from the broader football community online. You get sharper competition, fresh perspectives, and a vibe that has more in common with a tournament than a kickabout. Here is how to make it work.

Pick the right platform first

Before recruiting anyone, you need a platform that handles entries, scoring, and the leaderboard. Asking strangers to text predictions to a group chat will collapse within two weeks. The platform needs to be clean, automated, and able to handle 20 to 100 players without you doing manual data entry.

That is exactly what we built ScoreBadger for. You can spin up a league in a few minutes, share a join code, and the scoring runs itself. We have a quick walkthrough at how to play, and a piece on Premier League prediction games for beginners if you want the wider context.

Recruiting strangers

There are three places strangers leagues tend to thrive: football subreddits, Discord servers built around specific clubs or leagues, and football Twitter. Each has its own culture, but the same recruitment principles apply.

• Lead with the format - exact score predictions, league length, scoring rules
• Show the entry fee (or that it is free) up front so nobody feels misled
• Include the join link or code in the original post, not buried in a follow-up
• Be clear about how communication will work - group chat, Discord, in-platform
• Cap the league at a sensible number - 20 to 50 is the sweet spot

Recruiting too few is a problem because the league dies of low engagement. Recruiting too many is a different problem because the leaderboard becomes anonymous. We have more on this in our piece on what makes a good prediction league.