Guide

How to Use SubNow

Step‑by‑step guide for fair, stress‑free substitution management.

Create Your Team

  1. Tap + on the Home screen.
  2. Choose your sport, game format, duration, and breaks (halves or quarters).
    • If your format isn’t available, use Contact Us.
  3. Add your players
    • Player names are limited to 8 characters.

Set Up Your Line-Up

  1. On the Team Line-Up screen, drag any players who are not playing into Not Playing if needed.
  2. Check the purple timeline to see:
    • When substitutions happen
    • When breaks occur

Choose Substitution Settings

  1. Open Substitution Settings.
  2. Select:
    • Time between rotations
    • Number of subs per rotation
  3. If other fair options exist, SubNow will show them automatically.
  4. Need something different? Use Contact Us.

Check Game Time Fairness

Each player’s planned game time is colour-coded:

  • 🟢 Green – equal to or more than average
  • 🟡 Yellow – up to 10% below average
  • 🔴 Red – more than 10% below average

This helps you quickly confirm game time is fair.

Adjust Player Order & Goalkeeper

  • Drag players to:
    • Change substitution order
    • Choose who starts on the bench

Second-Half Goalkeeper

  1. Tap just left of a player’s name.
  2. A red G2 icon appears.
  3. Their game time updates automatically.
    • Time in goal counts as time on the field.

Continue to Planning

Tap Next:

  • Pro subscribers → Positions screen
  • Basic subscribers → Substitution Plan

Set Positions (Pro Subscribers)

Starting Formation

  1. Tap a player.
  2. Tap an empty spot on the field.

Positions can only be placed on the first Positions screen.

Run-On Positions

  • Tap one player, then another to swap.

Preview Rotations

  • Tap Fast Forward to step through rotations.
  • Players underlined in blue have just come on and can swap positions.
  • Adjustments here do not affect planned game time.

Tap Substitution Plan when ready.

Review the Substitution Plan

  • Use Fast Forward or tap a rotation time to preview the whole game.
  • Matching colours show who substitutes for who.

When positions aren’t active:

  • Players are shown under Field and Bench.
  • The next players coming off are listed at the top.

Print or Share

  • You can export the plan as a PDF.
  • Useful for:
    • Paper copies
    • Sharing with assistants or parents
    • Keeping weekly records

Start the Game

  • Tap Play Game.
  • Press the red Play button to start the clock.
  • Use Fast Forward if you’re practising.

Alerts & Substitutions

  • You’ll get an alert 1 minute before each rotation or break.
  • SubNow runs in the background (with permissions enabled).
  • The “Sub Now” alert sounds shortly before each substitution:
    • Default: 20 seconds
    • Adjustable to 30 or 40 seconds in Substitution Settings

Making Substitutions

Planned Substitutions

  1. Tap the underlined player on the bench.
  2. Tap the matching coloured player on the field.
  3. Repeat until no underlined players remain.
  4. SubNow scrolls to the next rotation automatically.

Unplanned Substitutions

  • Long‑press a player on the field.
  • Tap the bench player they are replacing.

Injuries & Out-of-Game Players

  1. Make an unplanned substitution to bring the injured player to the bench.
  2. Long‑press the player.
  3. Tap the Out of Game icon.
  4. The plan recalculates automatically.
To return a player:
  1. Open Out of Game
  2. Long‑press the player returning

Change Positions During the Game

  • Swap positions:
    • Long‑press a player
    • Tap another player
  • Change formations:
    • Long‑press a player
    • Tap an empty spot on the field
  • Changes apply from that point forward.

Breaks, Half-Time & Full-Time

  • The clock pauses automatically for breaks.
  • Tap Play to restart after each break.
  • Planned half‑time goalkeeper changes must be recorded first.
  • Players may appear in new positions after half‑time.
  • A warning sounds 1 minute before full time.

At full time, you’ll see a congratulations message and an optional rating prompt.

Ending or Restarting Games

  • Exit early using the back arrow (progress is not saved).
  • When starting a new game, the previous line‑up is used by default — making weekly tweaks easy.

Need More Help?

    Contact Us