Import Players into ClubFlow from an Excel File: Step by Step

What the upload does

The bulk upload reads an Excel file and creates the players in it on a team in one go, instead of adding them one at a time. It is built for the moment a squad first arrives in ClubFlow: a new season’s intake, a team migrating from a spreadsheet, or a whole age group moving up.

You work from a template ClubFlow provides, so the columns line up with what the system expects. Before anything is saved, ClubFlow checks every row in your browser and shows you exactly what passed and what needs fixing. Nothing is imported until the file is clean.

Connecting the SvFF API brings in your teams and their fixtures, but it does not import players. The federation’s data has no squad lists, so players are always added in ClubFlow itself. This upload is how you do that for a whole squad at once, instead of one player at a time.

What you need

Permission to manage the team’s roster. The same access that lets you add and move players lets you bulk upload them. If you don’t see the option, ask a club administrator.
The ClubFlow Excel template. You download it from inside the upload dialog. It carries the right column headers, so starting from it avoids the most common mistakes.

The template and its columns

The template has one column per field and one row per player. Five columns are required on every row: first_name, last_name, gender, date_of_birth and nationality. These match what ClubFlow asks for when you add a player by hand. The rest are optional. Leave a header in place even if you don’t fill its column.

Required on every row:

first_name(required). The player’s first name.
last_name(required). The player’s surname.
gender (required). One of male, female or other.
date_of_birth (required). Written as YYYY-MM-DD (for example 2009-04-17), no earlier than 1900 and not in the future.
nationality (required). A two-letter country code (for example SE, NO, GB).

Optional, fill in now or later on the player’s profile:

preferred_foot (optional). One of left, right or both.
position(optional). One of ClubFlow’s playing positions.
jersey_number (optional). A whole number from 1 to 99, unique within the team for the season.
height_cm (optional). A positive number, in centimetres.
weight_kg (optional). A positive number, in kilograms, with at most one decimal.

Filling in the file

Keep the header row as it comes in the template and add one player per row beneath it. A few rules are worth knowing before you upload:

Up to 500 players per file. A larger squad list is split into several files, each uploaded in turn.
The five required cells must be filled. First name, last name, gender, date of birth and nationality have to be present on every row. The optional cells you skip can be added later on the player’s profile.
Values must match the accepted options. Gender, preferred foot and position only accept the values listed above, dates use the YYYY-MM-DDformat, and nationality uses the two-letter code. ClubFlow tells you precisely which cell is off if something doesn’t fit.

Uploading and reviewing

Open the upload. There are two ways in, both through the Bulk upload players button. On a single team’s page the button sits at the top, next to Manage roster, and the upload is wired straight to that team. If you go through Teams in the menu instead, you pick the destination team from a list when the dialog opens. Either way, the players land in the team’s roster for the season you are working in.
Download the template and fill it in. Inside the dialog you’ll find the Download Excel template link. Start from it so the columns line up, put one player per row, and save the file.
Select your file. ClubFlow reads the file right in your browser and shows a row-by-row preview: each row is marked valid or flagged for something that needs a look. You can filter the preview down to just the rows with problems.
Fix anything flagged. The preview can’t be edited. Make the changes in the Excel file and select it again. As long as any row has an error, the upload button stays locked.
Check the warnings. ClubFlow flags rows that may be a duplicate of a player who already exists, and jersey numbers already taken in the team this season. A suspected duplicate you can confirm and import anyway, but a clashing jersey number has to be changed. If the file includes minors and the club hasn’t affirmed its parental-consent process yet, you’ll see a reminder, but it doesn’t stop the import.
Upload. Once everything checks out, import the file, and ClubFlow confirms how many players were added.

After the upload

The players are now on the team’s roster for the season, ready to appear in squads, playing time and everywhere else the team is used. Each one opens as a normal player profile, so you can add the details you left out of the file, such as height, position and development plans, whenever it suits.

The upload only ever adds players. To move someone to another team or take them off the roster, use the roster tools on the team’s page; the bulk upload never changes players who are already in ClubFlow.

Common questions

Do I need a separate file per team? Each upload fills one team at a time. Starting from a team’s own page wires the upload to that team; starting from the teams overview lets you pick the destination in the dialog. To fill several teams, upload once per team.

What happens if a row has an error? The preview flags it before anything is imported. Fix it in the Excel file and select the file again. The preview table is read-only on purpose, and ClubFlow will not upload until every row is valid.

Can I leave optional columns blank? Yes, the optional ones. Five columns are required on every row: first name, last name, gender, date of birth and nationality. Leave the rest empty and fill them in later on each player’s profile.

Does the upload overwrite existing players? No. It only adds new players to the team for the season. Existing players are never changed or removed.