Api Football vs Magic MCP
A side-by-side look at the Api Football and Magic MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Api Football for sports work as a local process; choose Magic MCP for architecture & design as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Api Football when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Sports domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You want tools like
fixtures, standings, team_search.
Choose Magic MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Architecture & Design domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEY, API_KEY_21ST.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Sports | Architecture & Design |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | API key required |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Paid service |
| Required env vars | None listed | TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEYAPI_KEY_21ST |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 6,209 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 16 views 1 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 9 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Api Football | View Magic MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Api Football tools 9
fixturesGet match fixtures (upcoming + recent) by league, team, or date. Use league=1 for FIFA World Cup, league=39 for EPL, league=140 for La Liga. Returns kickoff, teams, score (if played), venue, status.standingsCurrent standings table for a league. Returns rank, team, points, goal difference, form. Use league=1 for World Cup.team_searchLook up a team by name + country to get its team_id for use in other tools.league_searchLook up a league/tournament/competition by name to get its league_id.predictionsAPI-Football's own match-outcome predictions. Returns home/draw/away win probabilities, advice, h2h context, form. Use for "who will win" research on specific fixtures.football_injuriesCurrently injured and unavailable football players for a club or a league — who is out, the injury or reason, and whether they are ruled out or merely doubtful. Covers Serie A, the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and other competitions worldwide. Use for questions about which playe…football_squadThe current player squad for a football club — every player with shirt number, position, age and nationality. Use for questions about who plays for a club, squad lists, and a team roster.h2hHead-to-head record between two teams. Returns last N matches with scores.api_football_statusAPI-Football account status for the key in use: subscription plan name, whether it is active and when it ends, requests used today against the daily limit, and the per-minute limit the vendor reports in its rate-limit headers. The vendor does not count this call against the quota. Use it to tell a…
Magic MCP tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Api Football
{
"mcpServers": {
"api-football": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-api-football"
]
}
}
}
Magic MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"21st-dev-magic-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@21st-dev/cli@latest"
],
"env": {
"TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEY": "YOUR_TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEY_HERE",
"API_KEY_21ST": "YOUR_API_KEY_21ST_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Api Football is categorized under Sports and uses a local stdio subprocess. Magic MCP belongs to Architecture & Design and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Api Football for sports work and Magic MCP for architecture & design.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Api Football is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. Magic MCP is listed as a paid service. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add api-football and 21st-dev-magic-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Api Football has a quality signal of 56/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Magic MCP has 53/100 (Good) with 16 views, 1 installs and 6,209 GitHub stars.