STRAIGHT ANSWERS.
The questions captains, refs, and ballers actually ask. If yours is not here, write to us.
Do I have to pay to play on the platform?
No. Baller accounts are free and stay free. You only ever pay your share of a match fee - your captain sets the rate (TT$50 a head for a sweat, TT$150-ish for an external match with a ref and pitch hire). The platform takes none of it. The money goes straight to the ground and the referee.
How does the escrow actually work?
Your captain creates the match and sets the fee per head. Everyone pays their share into the escrow before kickoff. The money sits there, held, until the match is done and verified. Then it pays out automatically - pitch gets the ground fee, ref gets their rate, captain gets any change. No chasing, no IOUs.
What if a player no-shows?
The captain calls roll call at kickoff. Anyone marked no-show forfeits their share to the escrow - same as if you booked a hotel and didn't turn up. If there's a real reason (injury, emergency), the captain can refund it. The rule is set up front so nobody's surprised.
Can I dispute a stat on my card?
Yes. Open the match on your Scout Card, hit dispute on the stat, and write what should be there instead. The captain and the opposite captain both see the dispute and resolve it. If they can't agree, it goes to a referee or to us. Nothing on your card is locked in until both sides verify the match.
What if I'm a referee?
Set your availability, your rate, and the zones you cover. Captains book you the same way they book a pitch. Your fee is held in escrow before the match - so when you blow the final whistle, your payout is already cleared. No 'Monday morning, eh boss'. You verify the result, you get paid.
What if I own a field?
List your ground with availability, hourly rate, and photos. Captains book slots, pay into escrow, and you get the payout after the match wraps. You see every booking, every payment, every match played on your pitch. Calendar conflicts are gone because the platform owns the slot once it's booked.
When will real money payments turn on?
Match fees run through WAM (wam.money), a payment platform built in Trinidad and Tobago and regulated by the Central Bank. You pay your share on WAM's hosted checkout - wallet, card, or QR. Live payments switch on once our WAM Business onboarding completes; until then the payment flow runs in test mode and captains keep the 'mark paid' fallback for cash or bank transfer, same as always. Every match-day toolkit works today.
Who owns my stats?
You do. Your Scout Card, your goals, your assists, your match history - they belong to you. You can export them, share them, take them with you if you stop playing on a team. The platform records the game. It doesn't own your career.
What if WhatsApp already works for my squad?
Then WhatsApp works for your squad. The Fourth Official is for the captains who are tired of being the bookkeeper, the players who want their stats counted, and the refs who want to get paid on the day. If your group chat is settling fees on time every week and nobody's losing track of who scored, you don't need this. Most don't.
Is this affiliated with the TTFA?
No. The Fourth Official is independent. We're not a governing body, not a league, not a tournament organizer. We're the back-office tool that captains and refs use to run the football they're already running. We work alongside any league, any tournament, any sweat.
Can captains in Tobago use it?
Tobago goes live early 2026 once the ground list for the island is complete. If you want your pitch or your team on the launch list, write to us through the contact page and we'll get you set up first.
What about youth leagues or school football?
Youth leagues and school football come in phase two. The first build is for amateur adult football because that's where the money problem and the stat-loss problem are loudest. Once the captain-and-ref loop is solid, we extend it to the under-15s, under-17s, and the school programs that have been asking.