Overview
Magnifica was engaged by The Football Association, via The Media Group, to design and build a secure, scalable registration portal for the FA Walking Football Cup.
The platform needed to support nationwide participation by enabling teams, organisers, and administrators to manage all events from local heats through to national finals.
Right up our street this project and we were ready to get started! The only fly in the ointment was that it had to be delivered on an exceptionally tight timeline – clients are fun!
The challenge
The project came with three defining constraints:
1. Time-critical delivery
The portal had to be designed, built, tested, and deployed in time for competition launch. That was just under 4 weeks from project inception so leaving little margin for iteration.
2. Multi-role complexity
The system needed to support distinct user types: Admins, Organisers, and Teams. Each role with different permissions and workflows. So not just a simple portal.
3. Structured nationwide data
The competition operates across a hierarchical structure (Region → County FA → Heat), requiring intuitive navigation and robust data modelling to ensure each tier in the competition was handled correctly.
Additionally, the platform needed to be:
- Fully responsive across devices – lots of teams would register from their phones
- Secure and compliant (user authentication, password resets, HTTPS etc)
- Simple enough for non-technical users to manage heats and teams
Our approach
We adopted a pragmatic, delivery-focused approach prioritising core functionality, clarity of UX, and technical reliability. Time was limited but judgement and experience were not.
We need to get this launched within 4 weeks so we had to plan well and execute with precision.
Rapid scoping and alignment
Working closely with TMG, we translated their scope into testable acceptance criteria and a clear delivery roadmap. Every feature was defined with pass/fail conditions to ensure efficient sign-off so that development could begin as soon as possible.
Being realistic was key to aligning expectations. We were clear on what could be achieved and TMG helped to prioritise features understanding that a core feature set was the focus. Keeping this limited was the only way to deliver on time.
Lean, scalable architecture
The platform was built using:
- ASP.NET Core Razor Pages
- Microsoft SQL database
- Tailwind CSS for fast, consistent UI development
- Hosted on Microsoft Azure
This stack enabled rapid development while ensuring long-term scalability and performance. We are well practiced in delivering web applications using asp.net so we stayed in our lane and got started.
UX-first thinking
Despite the compressed timeline, we prioritised usability to ensure once live the portal would operate well with limited support from TMG:
- Mobile-first responsive design
- Clear entry points for Teams vs Organisers
- Guided registration flows
- Simple dashboard views
- Portal onboarding and UI messages to guide users
The outcome
A few long days and a weekend at our computers and the portal was ready – sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
The project was delivered successfully within the required timeframe, meeting all acceptance criteria and passing user acceptance testing. And the results where on point and ready for launch.
Key results:
- Fully functional nationwide registration system
- Seamless experience for multiple user types
- Scalable architecture for future competitions
- High usability with minimal onboarding required
- Secure, reliable infrastructure hosted on Microsoft Azure
Final Thoughts
This project demonstrates Magnifica’s ability to deliver robust, user-friendly digital platforms under tight constraints whilst balancing technical complexity with real-world usability.
The FA Walking Football Cup portal now serves as a scalable foundation for managing grassroots competitions at a national level.
