Building a schedule that actually works is a complex puzzle – especially when you're dealing with hundreds or thousands of matches, multiple venues, rest periods, and special requests.
With Cup Manager, you get help from AI-based scheduling built on constraint programming – a method where every rule and restriction is defined up front, and the system automatically finds solutions that satisfy them all.
Constraint programming is an established branch of AI research. It is not a language model that guesses: every placement is checked against the rules you have set.
What makes our AI solution different?
Match-by-match planning: The system actively decides which match to place next, based on complexity, travel times, and rules.
Intelligent venue selection: For every match, available fields and time slots are analyzed – and chosen based on what best balances the schedule as a whole.
Rules that are never broken: Time between matches, maximum matches per day, venue preferences, rest periods, main fields – everything is entered as a hard requirement that the schedule must meet. Rules are not traded off against each other with weights or penalty points, so you never get a schedule that is almost right.
A clear answer when it can't be done: If the rules cannot be met with the fields and times available, the system says so and shows which day, match and rule it got stuck on. You don't have to hunt for hidden errors in a finished schedule.
Optimization for the whole tournament: Smart prioritization favors placements that create an even flow, minimize congestion, and make efficient use of resources.
The scheduling engine is built on a master's thesis in computer science at Lund University, designed for tournaments the size of Gothia Cup with up to 1,600 teams and 4,500 matches. It has been developed further in Cup Manager ever since. Read how it works under the hood.
The result? A system that can schedule thousands of matches – in just a few minutes.
For anyone running a tournament, that means:
- Automatic, robust match schedules
- Far less manual adjustment
- A better experience for participants
- Support for both small and very large tournaments
Want to know more about how AI scheduling works in practice?
Book a demo and see how it would work for your tournament.
You can also read more about how Cup Manager works here: www.cupmanager.net/for-norden