Question 1

What is SportPadi?

Accepted Answer

SportPadi is a community platform for local sports. You can find and join pickup games and events near you, create or follow groups, get placed on fairly balanced teams, track live scores and stats, and — for organizers — sell tickets, collect dues, and manage the money side with a group wallet.

Question 2

Is SportPadi free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Finding games, joining groups, checking in, and playing is free. Some events sell tickets (set by the group running them), and groups that want advanced tools can subscribe to a paid plan — but a player never pays SportPadi just to play.

Question 3

Do I need an account to browse events?

Accepted Answer

No — public events and groups are browsable by anyone, and event links shared to you always open. You need an account to join a group, check in to an event, or buy a ticket, so we know who's on the attendee list and who a ticket belongs to.

Question 4

What is my username for?

Accepted Answer

Your @username is your unique handle on SportPadi. It's how other people find you — for example when a friend buys you a ticket or a team adds you to its roster. Typing @ before a search always searches usernames specifically. You can copy your username with one tap from your profile page.

Question 5

How do I find games near me?

Accepted Answer

Open Browse to see upcoming events around you, filterable by sport. Following a group puts its public events on your home page automatically, and joining a group shows you everything it runs. Your home feed collects what's live, today, and upcoming across every group you belong to or follow.

Question 6

What's the difference between joining and following a group?

Accepted Answer

Members are part of the group — they can be added to teams, check in to member events, and (if made admin) help run it. Followers just keep up: the group's public events show on their home page, but they aren't on the inside. Follow a group whose games you drop into; join the one you play with every week.

Question 7

How do I create a group?

Accepted Answer

Tap "New group" from your home page, give it a name, sport, and location, and you're the admin. From there you can invite players, create events, set up teams, and — on plans that include it — activate a wallet to collect payments.

Question 8

Who can manage a group?

Accepted Answer

Group admins. The creator is an admin automatically and can promote other members. Admins create and edit events, manage the roster, record scores, set up tickets and fines, and handle the wallet — money actions like withdrawals are visible to every admin for transparency.

Question 9

What are group plans (tiers)?

Accepted Answer

Plans unlock organizer tools — things like the group wallet, higher check-in limits, and advanced features. The free tier covers casual play. Upgrading happens from the group's Plan page on the web; pricing is shown there. What each plan includes can change, so the Plan page is always the source of truth.

Question 10

I have a promo code — what does it do?

Accepted Answer

Promo codes grant a group features or a plan without paying — for example during a partnership or launch. Redeem it where you upgrade the plan. Groups on a promo can use everything the promo grants, including the wallet, exactly like paying subscribers.

Question 11

How do I join an event?

Accepted Answer

Open the event and mark yourself interested, or just show up and check in. If the event is ticketed, buy the ticket first — the event page shows exactly what's required. Being on a team roster or the group's member list gets you into member-only events.

Question 12

How does QR check-in work?

Accepted Answer

The organizer displays the event's QR code at the venue. Open Scan from your home page, point your camera at it, and you're checked in — the organizer sees you appear on the attendee list within seconds. If the event needs a paid ticket you haven't bought, the scan tells you and lets you pay on the spot, then scan again.

Question 13

Why can't I check in?

Accepted Answer

Three common reasons: the event requires a ticket you haven't paid for (the scan will say so and offer payment), you have an unpaid fine with the group (settle it first), or the group has hit its monthly check-in limit on its current plan. The scan result always tells you which one it is.

Question 14

Can I undo a check-in?

Accepted Answer

Yes — open the event and tap Check out. You'll be asked to confirm, and you can check in again any time by scanning the QR. Organizers can also remove a checked-in player (with a confirmation step), for example when someone scanned by mistake.

Question 15

What are smart-balanced teams?

Accepted Answer

For game-day events, SportPadi can split checked-in players into fair sides automatically, using what it knows about positions and past play — no captains picking, no politics. The teams tab shows who's on which side, marks where you are, and organizers can still adjust manually.

Question 16

How are scores and stats recorded?

Accepted Answer

Organizers (or match officials they assign) record goals, cards, and results live from the match screen. Everyone can watch the score, key moments, and full time result on the event's Games tab. Mistakes can be amended — the final score updates automatically.

Question 17

How do I buy a ticket?

Accepted Answer

Open the event, find the ticket, and tap Buy ticket. You'll see who the ticket is for, the full price breakdown, and then pay on a secure hosted payment page. The moment payment settles, your ticket with its QR code is in My purchases and a receipt lands in your email.

Question 18

Why is the total at payment higher than the ticket price on the event page?

Accepted Answer

Event pages show the ticket price itself. At the payment step, a small processing/service fee is added and shown clearly before you pay — so the breakdown you approve (ticket + fees = total) is exactly what your card is charged. The group receives the full ticket price.

Question 19

Can I buy a ticket for someone else?

Accepted Answer

Yes — during checkout you can include or exclude yourself and attach any SportPadi user to each ticket, found by @username or email. Each person gets their own ticket, QR code, and receipt; gifted recipients are told who paid for them, and you get a summary of everyone you covered.

Question 20

Where is my ticket and QR code?

Accepted Answer

In My purchases (tickets icon in the app / Tickets on the web). Tap a ticket to open the full receipt: the QR to show at the gate, what you paid, the event details, and its status. The link in your receipt email opens the exact same page.

Question 21

What does "7/10 sold" mean? What happens at sold out?

Accepted Answer

Some tickets have a capacity. The counter shows how many are gone; at capacity the ticket shows sold out and can't be bought — including partway through a multi-person purchase, so nobody can oversell a venue. Spots held by payments in progress count until they succeed or expire.

Question 22

Do tickets expire? What about weekly or monthly tickets?

Accepted Answer

A one-time ticket is valid for its event. Recurring tickets (weekly or monthly dues-style passes) are valid for their current period — when a new period starts you'll see it as due again. Your receipt shows which period a payment covered.

Question 23

What happens to my ticket if the event is cancelled?

Accepted Answer

If the organizer cancels a ticketed event, everyone who paid is refunded automatically to their original payment method — you don't need to ask. In-app and email notifications confirm it.

Question 24

I paid the organizer directly (cash or transfer). Can I still get a real ticket?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the organizer can arrange with SportPadi to have a paid ticket issued to your account for money received outside the platform. You get the same QR, receipt email, and gate check-in as any other buyer.

Question 25

What happens when my ticket gets scanned at the gate?

Accepted Answer

The organizer scans your QR, and both sides get instant feedback: they see "Valid — checked in", and your ticket page flips to a green Checked in state on its own — no refreshing. A ticket can only be used once; a second scan shows "Already used" with the original scan time.

Question 26

What payment methods can I use?

Accepted Answer

It depends on where the group collects money: cards via Stripe (Canada, US, UK, Europe and more), Paystack for Nigerian groups, and Flutterwave in other supported African markets. The checkout page shows exactly what's available for that purchase. All payments happen on the provider's secure hosted page.

Question 27

Who pays the fees?

Accepted Answer

The buyer pays a small service fee on top of the ticket price, shown transparently at the payment step before any charge. That fee covers payment processing and the platform — the group receives the full ticket price they set, so what organizers see in their wallet matches what they sold.

Question 28

Can I save my card for faster checkout?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On a card payment you'll see a "save my information" option on the payment page — tick it and your next checkout offers that card for near one-click payment. Saved cards appear under Settings → payment methods, where you can set a primary or remove them. Paystack and Flutterwave also remember your card on their own pages, tied to your email.

Question 29

Is my card information safe?

Accepted Answer

Card details never touch SportPadi's servers. Every payment happens on Stripe's, Paystack's, or Flutterwave's certified hosted checkout, and saved cards are stored by the payment provider — SportPadi only keeps a reference like "Visa ending 4242".

Question 30

My payment went through but I don't see my ticket.

Accepted Answer

Give it a few seconds — settlement is usually instant but can briefly lag. Open My purchases and pull to refresh; the moment the provider confirms, the ticket appears and your receipt email sends. If it still hasn't after a few minutes, contact us with the payment reference from your provider receipt and we'll trace it.

Question 31

What is the group wallet?

Accepted Answer

The group's money hub. Ticket sales, dues, fines, and tournament fees settle into it, every movement is recorded in a ledger all admins can see, and withdrawals to the group's bank account are requested from it. It's available on plans (or promos) that include the wallet feature.

Question 32

How does the group get paid for ticket sales?

Accepted Answer

Buyers pay through the group's connected payment account; the ticket price settles toward the group's balance. Balances mature per the payment provider's settlement schedule (card payments typically take a few business days to become withdrawable — the very first payouts on a new account can take longer while the provider verifies it).

Question 33

How do withdrawals work?

Accepted Answer

Any admin can request a withdrawal. Every admin is notified immediately, the requested amount is locked so it can't be spent twice, and the request needs approval before anything moves. Once approved, the payout goes to the group's connected bank account, and the requests page shows the full trail: who requested, who approved or denied, when, and whether it reached the bank.

Question 34

Why did my withdrawal fail or get stuck?

Accepted Answer

Usually the money hadn't matured at the provider yet — funds show in the balance before they're withdrawable. When a payout can't be made, nothing is debited: the amount returns to the wallet and every admin is notified so you can retry once it settles. Withdrawal timing can also be shaped by payout-day and limit settings on the group.

Question 35

Why doesn't my balance match my total sales?

Accepted Answer

It should match the ticket prices you set — buyers pay the service fee on top, so the group receives the full price. Differences usually come from money still maturing, amounts locked by a pending withdrawal request, or refunds from a cancelled event.

Question 36

How is my group's plan charged when it renews?

Accepted Answer

Renewals are wallet-first: when the plan is due, SportPadi takes the amount from the group wallet if the balance covers it (and the currencies match) — no card is touched. If the wallet can't cover it, the group's primary card is charged. Admins get a notification either way saying exactly what happened.

Question 37

Why am I being asked to add a primary card?

Accepted Answer

If your group has a wallet but no card on file (common with promo-granted plans), there's no fallback when the wallet balance falls short at renewal. The banner on your wallet page links to the group billing page where any admin can add a card in under a minute.

Question 38

What happens if a renewal payment keeps failing?

Accepted Answer

Each failed attempt notifies every admin with what went wrong and how to fix it (top up the wallet or update the card), and attempts are spaced out to give you time. After three failed attempts the group is automatically moved to the free tier. Nothing is deleted — your events, members, and records are untouched, and you can re-upgrade any time.

Question 39

How do I cancel my paid plan?

Accepted Answer

From the group's Plan page, cancel at any time. The group keeps its plan and features until the end of the period already paid for, then moves to the free tier. If the free tier doesn't include the wallet, the wallet pauses — records stay visible, and it reactivates if you upgrade again.

Question 40

Why do plan upgrades open in the browser on mobile?

Accepted Answer

App store rules require purchases like these to happen outside the app's own billing. The mobile app hands you to the secure web page for the upgrade; everything else about plans works in-app.

Question 41

What are fines?

Accepted Answer

Groups can set fines for things like no-shows or late cancellations — it's the group's own accountability tool, and its admins decide the rules and amounts. Fines you owe show in the app with exactly what they're for.

Question 42

An unpaid fine is blocking my check-in. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

Pay it from the fine notice or the group's page — it's a normal secure checkout, and you'll get a confirmation email like any other payment. Once settled you can check in immediately. If you think a fine is wrong, talk to your group's admins; they control fines, not SportPadi.

Question 43

How do I change my name, username, or photo?

Accepted Answer

In Settings (web or app) you can edit your display name and username, and your profile photo from your profile page. Your username stays unique across SportPadi — if a name is taken you'll be asked to pick another.

Question 44

How do I control notifications?

Accepted Answer

You'll get in-app notifications for the things that matter — tickets bought for you, payment confirmations, wallet activity for admins, plan changes — plus push notifications on mobile and email receipts for payments. Device-level push can be controlled from your phone's notification settings.

Question 45

How do I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Settings → Delete account, and type DELETE to confirm. Your profile is anonymized immediately — you disappear from groups, events, and search, and old records show as "Deleted user". If you're the only admin of a group, you'll be asked to hand it over or close it first.

Question 46

Can I get my account back after deleting it?

Accepted Answer

Within 30 days, yes — contact support and we can restore it, since a recoverable snapshot is kept for exactly that window. After 30 days the snapshot is permanently purged and the deletion can't be reversed.

Question 47

What data does SportPadi keep about me?

Accepted Answer

Your profile (name, username, photo, sports), your group memberships and event activity, and payment records (what was paid, never card numbers — those live with the payment providers). The Privacy Policy linked in the footer has the full detail. Deleting your account anonymizes your profile and removes your memberships, device tokens, and notifications.

Question 48

Is there a SportPadi mobile app?

Accepted Answer

Yes — SportPadi is on Android and iOS with the full experience: home feed, browsing, groups, QR scanning and check-in, tickets with live gate feedback, wallets for admins, and notifications. Your account works everywhere; start on the web and continue on your phone.

Question 49

Does everything work the same in the app?

Accepted Answer

Nearly everything is native in the app. The exceptions open the secure web page in your browser: plan upgrades and a couple of billing pages (app store rules), then you're right back in the app.

Question 50

The app shows something different from the web.

Accepted Answer

Both talk to the same live system, so give it a pull-to-refresh — and on game day, event and ticket screens refresh themselves every few seconds. If something still looks off, force-close and reopen the app, and make sure you're on the latest version.

Frequently asked questions

Getting started

Groups

Events & check-in

Tickets

Payments, fees & saved cards

Group wallets & withdrawals

Plans & billing (organizers)

Fines

Account, privacy & notifications

Mobile app