Api Football vs Balldontlie MCP
A side-by-side look at the Api Football and Balldontlie 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 Balldontlie MCP for sports 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 Balldontlie MCP 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 have the keys it needs:
BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY. - You want tools like
league, firstName, lastName.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Sports | Sports |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | API key required |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 26 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 9 | 7 |
| Full listing | View Api Football | View Balldontlie 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…
Balldontlie MCP tools 7
leaguefirstNamelastNamecursordatesteamIdsgameId
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"
]
}
}
}
Balldontlie MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"mikechao-balldontlie-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"balldontlie-mcp"
],
"env": {
"BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY": "YOUR_BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Api Football is categorized under Sports and uses a local stdio subprocess. Balldontlie MCP belongs to Sports and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Api Football for sports work and Balldontlie MCP for sports.
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. Balldontlie MCP is listed as free. 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 mikechao-balldontlie-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 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Balldontlie MCP has 56/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 26 GitHub stars.