The question we get most from a club's first-time organiser is not about the football. It is "what actually happens?" This is the weekend as it runs at the English Easter Cup, which is the shape most clubs start with. The Summer Cup in Manchester runs over three days in hotels rather than on a park, and its own page has the detail.
Friday: arrive
Park stays run as three-night packages around the tournament weekend: arrive the day before the football, leave the morning after. For the 2027 Easter Cup that means checking in on Friday 26 March and checking out on Monday 29 March.
Check-in on the parks is from 4pm. Families collect keys, find their unit and, within about ten minutes, the kids have found a patch of grass and a ball. The parents find the bar. Friday evening is unstructured on purpose; the whole club is in one place for the first time and that is the tour starting.
Saturday: play
Day one runs a group format. Fixtures are staggered through the day so age groups are not all on at once, and each team usually plays several matches. All games are officiated by qualified referees. First aid is on site throughout, and a dedicated Revel tour manager is there all weekend.
How many games a team plays follows the entries in each age group. It is usual, not guaranteed, so treat the fixture card as a plan rather than a promise until it is published.
The formats scale with age. Under 7 plays 3-a-side, Under 8 and Under 9 are 5-a-side, Under 10 and Under 11 are 7-a-side, Under 12 and Under 13 are 9-a-side, and Under 14 to Under 16 are 11-a-side. Girls' Under 12 is 9-a-side and Girls' Under 14 and Under 16 are 11-a-side. Squad maximums match the format.
Saturday night: Stay and Play
The parks run family entertainment on the Saturday night: fancy dress, karaoke, live entertainment and a dance floor. It is the bit the kids talk about on the coach home, and it is where a club stops being twelve families who happen to train together.
Sunday: seeded day, cups and medals
Day two is seeded from Saturday's results. Teams are split into the Revel Cup, the Revel Challenge Cup and the Revel Shield, so every side is playing others at its level on the second day. The number of cups in each age group follows the entries.
Medals go to every player in the non-competitive age categories, and to all finalists in the competitive ones, with trophies for the winners at each final. After each final, teams take the stage with the music up, in front of their families. It is the moment the weekend is built around, and it is why the younger age groups get theirs too.
Monday: home
Check-out is 10am. Clubs travelling from Ireland get back on the coach for the ferry; everyone else drives home.
Boots off: what the families do in between
Most of the weekend is not football, and the parks are chosen for that. Between them, Marine Holiday Park and Talacre Beach Resort have indoor heated pools, amusement arcades, play areas, kids' clubs, bars, and the North Wales beaches on the doorstep. YHA Liverpool Albert Dock is the city option, a short walk from the Albert Dock, the Beatles Story and the Mersey ferry. The Easter Cup guide goes park by park.
Beyond the park, Chester and Liverpool are near enough for a day, and stadium tours at Old Trafford, the Etihad, Anfield and Everton's stadium can be added to the itinerary on the right dates. Ask before you travel; they are built into the group's quote, not sold at the gate.
Who is there
Clubs from Britain, Ireland and Europe, in age groups from Under 7 to Under 16, with girls-only categories at Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16. Schools can enter too. The whole club, kids, parents and coaches, travels and stays together under the club's banner.
Three things first-timers get wrong
- Booking the park late. Parks sell out before the football does. The tournament will have a place for your team long after the unit you wanted is gone.
- Over-planning Saturday night. The park does it for you.
- Treating the kick-off time as fixed months out. Fixtures are built from the entries and published before the tournament. Tell the families the day, not the hour, until it is.
Price it for your club
Tell us the tournament you are looking at, your age groups and roughly how many are travelling. We come back within one working day with dates, availability and a per-person price. You can also try the instant quote or check availability for your dates.
Phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, and WhatsApp is always on. Contact the team.