Importing Players via CSV
SportsPress includes a built-in CSV importer for players. Access it at Tools > Import, then click Run Importer next to SportsPress Players (CSV).
Before You Start
Download the sample CSV from the link shown on the importer greeting screen (
dummy-data/players-sample.csvin the plugin folder).The importer expects exactly 8 columns in a fixed order. Do not add extra columns or change the column sequence.
Column Order and Field Reference
The CSV must have columns in this exact order:
Column | Field name | Required | Notes | |
1 | Squad Number | No | Any text or number | |
2 | Name | Yes | Row is skipped if blank | |
3 | Positions | No | Pipe-separated for multiple: `Forward\ | Midfielder` |
4 | Teams | No | Pipe-separated for multiple; auto-created if not found | |
5 | Leagues | No | Pipe-separated; auto-created if not found | |
6 | Seasons | No | Pipe-separated; auto-created if not found | |
7 | Nationality | No | 3-letter lowercase country code (e.g., | |
8 | Date of Birth | No | See date format options below |
Multi-Value Fields
Fields that accept multiple values use the vertical pipe character | as a separator:
Forward|Midfielder Premier League|FA Cup 2023|2024
Auto-Create Behavior
When an imported value does not match an existing record, SportsPress creates it automatically:
Positions — new
sp_positiontaxonomy terms are createdTeams — new team posts are created and assigned to the player's leagues and seasons
Leagues — new
sp_leaguetaxonomy terms are createdSeasons — new
sp_seasontaxonomy terms are created
Team Assignment Logic
When multiple teams are listed in the Teams column:
The first team becomes the player's Current Team (
sp_current_team)All subsequent teams are saved as Past Teams (
sp_past_team)
All teams (current and past) are also stored in the general sp_team meta.
Date of Birth Format
On the importer options screen, choose the date format that matches your CSV file:
yyyy/mm/dd (default) — e.g.,
1990/06/15dd/mm/yyyy — e.g.,
15/06/1990mm/dd/yyyy — e.g.,
06/15/1990
Slashes and hyphens are interchangeable. A date of 0000-00-00 is treated as no date and omitted.
Date of Birth is stored as the post_date of the player record (WordPress post date), not as a separate meta field.
Merge Duplicates
The Merge duplicates checkbox (checked by default) controls what happens when a player with the same name already exists:
Checked — the existing player record is updated with the imported values
Unchecked — a new player record is created even if a player with that name exists
When merging, existing taxonomy terms (leagues, seasons, positions) are preserved and the new values are appended.
After Import
A summary shows imported and skipped counts. Skipped rows are those with a blank Name column. Click View Players to see the imported records.