Transparency: we make MatchReel, which appears in the highlights section. Every other app is described from its App Store listing and the developer's website as of 20 October 2026. Prices and ratings change; small numbers of ratings say little about quality, so we show how many there are.
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Quick picks
| You want to | Best pick | Also worth a look |
|---|---|---|
| Track distance, sprints and heart rate as a player | Outplay or SoccerTrackr | Strava, Pitch Pulse, Ballers Club |
| Turn goals into a highlight reel | MatchReel | HighlightFC, MatchTagR (for Veo footage) |
| Referee a match | REFSIX | Football Referee Timer by WTSB, Ref90 |
| Keep score from the touchline | Scoreboard: 2 Teams | Match Keeper |
| Just log the workout, free | Apple's Workout app | Strava |
Track your own game
These apps turn the Watch into a GPS tracker for your match: distance, top speed, sprints and heart rate, with a heatmap on the iPhone afterwards. Watch GPS is less precise than the GPS vests used in professional football, so treat single numbers as a guide and compare matches over time.
Outplay: Football Tracker
A dedicated football tracker by Colour Software. On the Watch you record a whole match or split halves, with pause and resume. It reports distance, speed, sprints and sprint distance, intensive runs, accelerations, calories and heart rate, and shows the heatmap on the iPhone. Route and heart rate also go to Apple Health.
Price: free, Pro £2.99/month or £24.99/year ($2.99 / $24.99). Rating: 4.4 from 57 ratings (UK).
SoccerTrackr
One of the longest-running football apps for the Watch (since 2018). It records a full session without the iPhone and has modes for game, pick-up, practice, goalkeeper and referee. Besides distance, speed and heart rate it logs score, goals and assists, saves for goalkeepers, a heatmap, VO2 max and an effort score.
Price: free, subscription £2.79/month or £18.49/year ($2.99 / $19.99), first week free. Rating: 4.4 from 112 ratings (US).
Strava
Not football-specific, but the biggest name in sports tracking. The Watch app records activities with heart rate and a live map, standalone on Series 4 and later, and Football (Soccer) is one of Strava's sport types. Great if you already use Strava for running; you will not get football stats like sprints per half.
Price: free, subscription £8.99/month or £54.99/year ($11.99 / $79.99). Rating: 4.8 from over 378,000 ratings (US).
Newer trackers: Pitch Pulse and Ballers Club
Pitch Pulse (first released May 2026) records GPS, heart rate, speed and sprints on the Watch and adds leaderboards and head-to-head comparisons on the iPhone; Pro is £4.99/month or £29.99/year. Ballers Club, a UK app, records matches on Apple Watch or Garmin, gives coaching cues during play and has club leaderboards; Pro is £6.99/month or £39.99/year. Both are actively developed but still have only a handful of ratings.
Scorza (UK only)
A different approach: the Apple Watch goes into a padded Scorza vest instead of on your wrist. The app shows a heatmap, distance with splits, sprints, speed and heart rate zones. The bundle costs £49.99 a year including the vest and is only available in the UK.
Tag goals and highlights
The Watch is ideal for marking moments while you play or coach: one tap, and you never scrub through 90 minutes of video looking for the goals again.
MatchReel (our app)
During the match you tap each goal or highlight on the Watch, with the scorer picked from your squad. Cards and big moments can be logged too. Meanwhile the Watch records the match as a football workout with heart rate, distance, top speed, sprints and your GPS route. After the final whistle, the iPhone app matches your taps to your match video (also from several iPhones) and cuts clips and a highlight reel with a live score bar, scorer graphics, an intro and the final score. The next update adds a Workout only mode for training or kickabouts: the Watch records just the workout, with no match logging, and your sessions appear in the iPhone stats.
Price: free, MatchReel Pro £3.99/month or £34.99/year ($3.99 / $34.99) with a free trial; the heatmap, sprint map and heart rate zones are part of Pro. Rating: new, no ratings yet. See how it works.
HighlightFC and MatchTagR
HighlightFC: MatchCut Video logs goals, saves, shots, substitutions, cards and shoot-outs on the Watch as markers for cutting highlights from your video; it is free. MatchTagR is aimed at teams with a Veo camera: you tag events on the Watch and sync the tags with the Veo footage afterwards (one-off Pro upgrade). Both are new with very few ratings.
Tonsser Cam
A free iPhone app that keeps the last 10, 30 or 60 seconds when you tap, with an optional scoreboard overlay and no account. It has had an Apple Watch app since March 2026, but its listing does not describe what the Watch app does.
For referees
REFSIX
The most established referee app, also on Samsung, Garmin and Wear OS watches. On the Watch it handles match timers with added time and half time, goals and scorers, cautions and dismissals with reasons, substitutions and sin bins with a return alert, plus distance covered. PRO adds a heatmap, card locations and heart rate per half.
Price: free, PRO listed at £8.99 and £59.99 ($11.99 / $79.99). Rating: 4.6 from 279 ratings (UK).
Football Referee Timer by WTSB
Runs entirely on the Watch: 1 to 4 periods, stoppage time with a recommended added time, goals with scorer, penalties and own goals, cards with reasons, sanctions for team officials, several sin bins, extra time and penalty shoot-outs, plus voice notes. The match report syncs to the iPhone afterwards.
Price: free, £1.99/month, £17.99/year or £149 lifetime. Needs a recent iPhone (iOS 26.1).
Ref90 and Referee Watch PRO
Ref90 (UK) is a one-off purchase of £7.99 with no subscription: offline timers for kick-off, half time, added time, sin bins and water breaks, plus goals, fouls and substitutions. Referee Watch PRO covers football and other sports with timing presets and shows a heatmap of your positioning after the match (£3.99/month or £29.99/year).
Keep score: coaches and parents
Scoreboard: 2 Teams
A simple, popular scoreboard for any sport that you can control from the Watch, standalone or synced with the iPhone. Price: free with ads, subscription or £39.99 lifetime. Rating: 4.6 from over 2,200 ratings (US).
Match Keeper
Start a match from your wrist, tap to score and hold to correct; the live timer and score can sit on your watch face. Includes team management on the iPhone. Price: free, Premium £2/month or £12/year. Needs watchOS 26.5.
The built-in Workout app
Apple's own Workout app has a Football (Soccer) workout type for indoor and outdoor play. It is free, logs time, heart rate and calories to Apple Health and closes your rings. Apple does not document football-specific metrics or a route map for this workout type, so for sprints, top speed or a heatmap you need one of the apps above.
How we chose
- Only apps with a real Apple Watch app (listed for Apple Watch with a watchOS requirement in the App Store).
- Updated in 2025 or 2026. Apps without updates for over a year are left out.
- Sensor-only trackers without a Watch app (for example Footbar or Playermaker) are not on this list.
- Prices and ratings from the UK and US App Store on 20 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Apple Watch track football?
Yes. The built-in Workout app has a Football (Soccer) workout type for indoor and outdoor play. For football-specific stats such as sprints, top speed or a heatmap you need a dedicated app like Outplay, SoccerTrackr or MatchReel.
What is the best Apple Watch app for referees?
REFSIX is the most established referee app with an Apple Watch app and hundreds of ratings. It handles match timers, goals, cards, substitutions and sin bins. Alternatives include Football Referee Timer by WTSB and Ref90, which is a one-off purchase.
Can I mark goals on my Apple Watch and get highlights?
Yes. With MatchReel you tap each goal on your Apple Watch during the match. Afterwards the iPhone app finds those moments in your match recording and cuts clips and a highlight reel with a score bar and scorer graphics.
Do I need my iPhone with me during the match?
For most of these apps, no. Strava, SoccerTrackr, REFSIX, Ref90 and MatchReel record on the Watch and sync with the iPhone afterwards. Check each app's description, as some features need the phone nearby.
Sources
App Store listings, checked on 20 October 2026.
- Outplay, SoccerTrackr, Strava, Pitch Pulse, Ballers Club, Scorza
- MatchReel, HighlightFC, MatchTagR, Tonsser Cam
- REFSIX, Football Referee Timer by WTSB, Ref90, Referee Watch PRO
- Scoreboard: 2 Teams, Match Keeper
- Apple: workout types on Apple Watch