# Penal — Football prediction pool app > Penal is a free football prediction pool app for iOS and Android, built by Sebastiaan Pasma & Arjan van Hulzen in Groningen, the Netherlands. Users predict match results across major competitions (World Cup, Champions League, national leagues), compete in private pools with friends, family or colleagues, and earn up to 55 points per match. Pools can be upgraded one-time (no subscription) to unlock advanced features like full live scoreboards, statistics, sub-pools and custom branding. ## Quick facts - **Type:** Mobile application (iOS + Android), with a marketing website at penalapp.com. - **Pricing model:** Free to play. Optional one-time pool upgrades. No subscriptions, no in-app currency, no gambling. - **Languages:** Dutch (default), English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish, Polish, Indonesian. - **Maker:** Sebastiaan Pasma & Arjan van Hulzen, based in Groningen, the Netherlands. - **Origin:** Concept born from in-person office pools; first digital edition during UEFA Euro 2024 (around 10,000 participants). - **Next big event:** FIFA World Cup 2026. - **Contact:** mail@penalapp.com. ## How Penal works 1. Download the app on iOS or Android. 2. Pick a competition (e.g. the 2026 World Cup, Champions League). 3. Predict the outcome of every match before kick-off. 4. Earn points based on how close your prediction is to the real result. 5. Play in your own private pool with friends, family or colleagues, on top of the global per-competition leaderboard. You can join multiple pools at the same time. Predictions are entered once and apply to every pool you are in. ## Scoring system Maximum **55 points per match**, distributed as: - 25 points — correctly predicting winner or draw - 5 points — correct number of home team goals - 5 points — correct number of away team goals - 5 points — correct goal difference - 15 points — exact score correct Notes: - Predictions include extra time. A penalty shootout does not count for scoring. - Some matches feature a **bonus question** (extra points on top of the prediction). - Each competition gives a number of **doublers**. A doubler doubles all points earned with the prediction for one match of the player's choice (the doubler does not apply to the bonus question). - Predictions and doublers can be edited until kick-off. Once the match starts, choices are locked. - Tied players share their position in the standings. No tie-breakers are applied. ## Pool types and pricing All upgrades are **one-time per pool** (not per user, not recurring). When the pool creator upgrades the pool, every member of that pool gets the upgraded experience. ### Basis (Basic) — Free - Unlimited participants - Basic / limited live scoreboard - Participation in the global per-competition leaderboard - No advertisements ### Prof (Pro) — EUR 15,- one-time per pool Includes everything in Basis, plus: - Full live scoreboard (real-time leaderboard during matches, including how each goal shifts everyone's points) - Insight into how other participants earned their points (visible after the match) - Detailed statistics and results ### Club — EUR 75,- one-time per pool Includes everything in Prof, plus: - **Sub-pools** (departments or teams within the same pool, with separate leaderboards). Department score is calculated as total points of all members in that department divided by the number of members. - **Custom branding**: add your own logo to the pool. - Built for companies, associations and sports clubs that want a real internal competition. Payment is processed by Mollie. Supported methods include iDEAL/Wero, Bancontact, credit card and bank transfer. ## Supported competitions - **FIFA World Cup 2026** — primary focus. - **UEFA Champions League** — already available in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. - **National leagues after the 2026 World Cup** — Eredivisie (NL), Premier League (UK), Bundesliga (DE) and more being added over time. - **UEFA Euro 2024** — first edition, around 10,000 participants. Used as the validation of the concept. ## Features in detail - **Predictions** — predict every match in a competition. Points awarded per match based on accuracy. Predictions stay editable until kick-off. - **Doublers** — limited number per competition. Doubles the points of a single match's prediction. - **Bonus questions** — extra questions on selected matchdays for additional points. - **Pools** — create or join a private group of players. Multiple pools allowed per user. - **Live scoreboard** — second-screen experience that updates the leaderboard live as goals come in (full version in Pro and Club). - **Statistics and results** — performance breakdowns per player, including streaks, day winners, accuracy (Pro and Club). - **Sub-pools** — nested groups inside a Club pool, each with its own leaderboard. - **Branding** — custom logo on Club pools. ## Account, data and platforms - iOS app: https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/penal/id6475668867 - Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.penalapp.app - Authentication: Sign-in with Google or Apple. - Push notifications via Firebase Cloud Messaging. - Real-time updates over Socket.IO during live matches. ## About the makers The idea for Penal was born in 2024 in Groningen, the Netherlands. In a co-working space, the team had organised in-person football pools around major tournaments (Euros, World Cup) for years. Coming from a background in digital design and app development, they decided to build a digital version that was easier and better-looking than existing solutions. UEFA Euro 2024 was the first live edition, with around 10,000 participants. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the next major milestone. The studio behind Penal is **Enkodo**, an independent app studio based in Groningen, NL. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Penal? Penal is a free football pool app for iOS and Android. You predict match results and compete against friends, family or colleagues in private pools. ### How does Penal work? You pick a competition, predict the outcome of every match, and earn points based on accuracy. You compete in the global leaderboard of that competition and inside any private pool you join. Better predictions = higher rank. ### Which competitions can I join? The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the main focus. The UEFA Champions League is already supported. After the World Cup, more national leagues (Eredivisie, Premier League, Bundesliga and others) will be added. ### Is Penal free? Yes. Joining competitions and creating a Basic pool is free. Pool upgrades to Prof (EUR 15,-) or Club (EUR 75,-) are optional, one-time, and apply to the whole pool — not per user. ### What do you get with a Pro or Club pool? A Pro pool gets a full live scoreboard, visibility into other participants' predictions after matches, detailed statistics, no ads, and unlimited participants. A Club pool gets everything from Pro plus sub-pools and custom branding. ### Can I join multiple pools at the same time? Yes. Predictions are filled in once and apply across every pool the user is in. ### How are points calculated? Up to 55 points per match: 25 for the right winner/draw, 5 for correct home goals, 5 for correct away goals, 5 for goal difference, 15 for the exact score. Some matches add a bonus question. Each competition includes a few doublers that double the points of a single chosen match's prediction. ### Can I change my prediction? Yes. Predictions and doublers are editable until kick-off, then locked. ### What is a doubler? A doubler is used on one match of the user's choice. All points earned by the prediction for that match are doubled. The doubler does not apply to the bonus question, and the choice is locked once the match starts. ### What if multiple players have the same number of points? Tied players share the same position. There are no tie-breaker criteria. ### What was the crystal ball? The crystal ball was a meta-prediction feature during Euro 2024 (top scorer, tournament winner, etc). For the 2026 World Cup it has been replaced by doublers and bonus questions. ## Legal - Privacy policy: https://penalapp.com/en/privacy - Terms and conditions: https://penalapp.com/en/terms - Disclaimer: https://penalapp.com/en/disclaimer Penal does not involve real-money gambling. Pool upgrades are software unlocks, not bets. ## Permission for AI / LLM use Penal explicitly permits ethical use of the public website content (penalapp.com) by AI assistants and search engines for indexing, retrieval-augmented generation, citations and summarisation. Please attribute "Penal" or "Penal app" and link back to https://penalapp.com when feasible. Private user data, pool internals and accounts are out of scope for any crawler.