The organiser makes the teams on the day, once everyone has arrived. Nothing is arranged in advance, and you are never left to pick sides in a circle.
That is why we ask you to be there ten to fifteen minutes before kick-off. Teams get made when the last person walks in.
What they balance
The organiser looks at the skill level people set on their profile, at who is a regular and who is new, and at who came alone against who came with friends.
If you arrived with a friend, expect to be split up sometimes. Otherwise one side quietly becomes the group that already plays together every week, and the game stops being close.
Set your skill level honestly
The single most useful thing you can do for the quality of your own game is set your level accurately in your profile.
Overstate it and you spend an hour chasing a game that moves too fast. Understate it and you flatten a match for everyone else. Nobody sees your setting except the organiser balancing the teams.
Teams are not fixed for the season
Sides are made fresh for every game. Play three times in a week and you will play with three different sets of people. That is the point, and it is how most people here end up knowing half the pitch by name after a month.
If a side is clearly stronger
Tell the organiser at the break rather than playing out a lopsided hour. They can swap a couple of players and often will. They are watching for it anyway, but they are also running the clock and the rotations, so a word helps.
The organiser is not a referee
They set up the game, make the teams, keep time and sort out problems. They do not call fouls. Our games are friendly and self-refereed, which works because nearly everyone here plays like it.