Espn vs Api Football
A side-by-side look at the Espn and Api Football MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Espn for sports work as a local process; choose Api Football 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 Espn when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Sports domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
get_scoreboard, get_teams, get_news.
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.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Sports | Sports |
| Quality signal | 61/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | BYOK (pay the provider) |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 6 | 9 |
| Full listing | View Espn | View Api Football |
Tools & capabilities
Espn tools 6
get_scoreboardLive sports scores: NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL/soccer/college scores for today's games and results. Returns each game with teams, scores, status (live/final), clock, and period. Common sport/league pairs: football/nfl, football/college-football, basketball/nba, basketball/wnba, basketball/mens-college-basketball, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/usa.1 (MLS), soccer/esp.1 (La Liga), soccer/uefa.champions (Champions League).get_teamsList all teams (rosters/franchises) for a league: names, abbreviations, locations, and colors. Works for NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL/soccer/college. Common sport/league pairs: football/nfl, football/college-football, basketball/nba, basketball/wnba, basketball/mens-college-basketball, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/usa.1 (MLS), soccer/esp.1 (La Liga), soccer/uefa.champions (Champions League).get_newsLatest sports news headlines for a league: NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL/soccer/college articles with summaries and links. Common sport/league pairs: football/nfl, football/college-football, basketball/nba, basketball/wnba, basketball/mens-college-basketball, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/usa.1 (MLS), soccer/esp.1 (La Liga), soccer/uefa.champions (Champions League).get_standingsLeague standings / table: win-loss records, win %, games behind (and points/draws for soccer), grouped by conference/division. PREFER for "NBA standings", "Premier League table", "NFL division standings", "who is leading <league>". Common sport/league pairs: football/nfl, football/college-football, basketball/nba, basketball/wnba, basketball/mens-college-basketball, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/usa.1 (MLS), soccer/esp.1 (La Liga), soccer/uefa.champions (Champions League).get_team_scheduleA team's schedule — upcoming and recent games with dates, opponents, and (for finished games) scores and result. PREFER for "when do the Lakers play next", "<team>'s schedule", "<team> recent results". Get the numeric team_id from get_teams. Common sport/league pairs: football/nfl, football/college-football, basketball/nba, basketball/wnba, basketball/mens-college-basketball, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/usa.1 (MLS), soccer/esp.1 (La Liga), soccer/uefa.champions (Champions League).get_game_summaryA completed or in-progress game's box score: per-player stats by team (e.g. goals/assists/shots for hockey, passing/rushing for football), scoring plays in order, and game leaders (top performer per stat category). PREFER for "box score for <game>", "<team> vs <team> player stats", "who scored in <game>". Get the numeric event_id from get_scoreboard or get_team_schedule. Common sport/league pairs: football/nfl, football/college-football, basketball/nba, basketball/wnba, basketball/mens-college-basketball, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/usa.1 (MLS), soccer/esp.1 (La Liga), soccer/uefa.champions (Champions League).
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…
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.
Espn
{
"mcpServers": {
"espn-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-espn"
]
}
}
}
Api Football
{
"mcpServers": {
"api-football": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-api-football"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Espn is categorized under Sports and uses a local stdio subprocess. Api Football belongs to Sports and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Espn for sports work and Api Football 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.
Espn has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Api Football is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. 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 espn-2 and api-football as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Espn has a quality signal of 61/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Api Football has 56/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.