Would you like to set a quiz for our London Football Quiz League? We’re looking to broaden the range of setters, to get different perspectives, and – if we’re honest – take the pressure off. So why not have a go? It’s fun! (Honest.). Here’s how:
Format
The quiz should total 100 points, usually across 5 rounds of 20. This doesn’t mean there necessarily needs to be 100 questions: if a question requires multiple answers (e.g. “Who were the semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup?”), this would give a point for each answer.
One or two of the rounds should be on paper, to be handed out before or during the quiz. Usually these will be a picture round and/or a list question, e.g. name the 20 top scorers in Premier League history. The other rounds should be spoken questions – you can use audio-visual if you want, but don’t write a set that relies on it.
We recommend setting rounds based on an overall theme – almost anything is possible, e.g. a competition, players in a particular position, a particular tournament, record transfers etc. However, avoid setting an entire round about one particular club.
Guidance
The aim of the quiz league is to be challenging and interesting. Try to cover a range of difficulty in each round. The following rules are a good guide to what makes a good question:
- If a player knows the answer immediately, it allows them to demonstrate particular knowledge and/or get an advantage over other teams
- If they don’t know the answer immediately, the player or team can dredge it up from memory
- If no-one on the team knows the answer, they can potentially work it out between them.
- If the team doesn’t know the answer and can’t work it out, they’ll have learned something interesting when it is revealed.
The quiz should cover football across the men’s and women’s game, in different parts of the world, at different levels and in different eras. Recency bias is fine, but try to avoid questions that won’t stand the test of time. “Who was the top scorer in last season’s Champions League?” is a matter of historical record, and the question can be reused with a slight rewording, but “Who is currently 5th in the Bundesliga?” is too ephemeral.
Rules
Your team can still play a set that you’ve written, minus anyone involved in its setting or reading. It goes without saying that you don’t share the questions or answers with the rest of your team.
Disputes around questions are at the question master’s discretion – usually discussing it with the players will provide an outcome. In case of ambiguity, the following two rules apply:
- For people, surnames are sufficient as an answer, unless there is a close ambiguity between two players, e.g. the Neville brothers
- For teams, accept any unambiguous name, e.g “Manchester United”, “Man Utd”, “Man U”, but not “Manchester” or “United”. However, “Newcastle” on its own is acceptable.
Any questions?
Feel free to contact us at londonfootballquizleague@gmail.com and join our Facebook Group if you haven’t already.
