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The Beautiful Game is the world’s most popular sport and a big part of British culture. While the Premier League attracts talent from around the globe and showcases the sport’s most iconic stars, the grassroots game is just as important a part of many people’s lives. Maintained by the active participation of hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, the health of the grassroots game depends on people like you, who want to start clubs and provide people with an opportunity to take to the pitch.

However, starting an amateur football club requires hard work, careful planning and dedication. In this guide, we walk you through the various steps involved, provide guidance and advice, discuss the importance of sports club insurance, and help you realise your dream of starting your own team.

Why set up an amateur football team?

While people usually start football teams for the sheer love of the game, there are a whole host of supporting reasons, too. These include:

• Health, fitness and well-being - football is an excellent way to stay fit and benefits both your physical and mental health. It is a great cardiovascular workout, improves your teamwork and acts as an outlet for stress. It provides you with the reason and motivation to stay active. 

• Sense of community - being part of a football team brings people together and provides participants with a sense of community. It is a brilliant way to meet new people, make friends and foster a sense of belonging among people who may otherwise never interact.

• Competitive outlet - sport enables you to express your competitive spirit and test your abilities against other teams. Many footballers love the competitive thrill that comes with lacing up your boots on matchday and giving everything for their team.

• Developing your skills - playing regularly is the best way to improve your footballing abilities. While this rings true for your technical skills, it also applies to fitness, tactics and teamwork. You may also find that running a football club is a great way to hone your organisational and leadership abilities.

• Having fun - above all else, football is just really, really good fun. Establishing an amateur team enables you to enjoy the sport in a relaxed, pressure-free way while still providing a competitive outlet.

What are your goals and what do you want to achieve?

When setting up your team, it is a good idea to think about what kind of club you want to establish, what you want to achieve and what type of experience you hope to offer. A club that aims to climb the league ladder quickly will probably go about things differently from a more casual team that just wants to ensure a group of friends get together for a knockabout every weekend.

With this in mind, here are five questions you should ask yourself before you go any further.

1. Competitive or recreational? Do you want your team to push for promotion, rise through the leagues and be as successful as possible? Or are you more interested in having fun and hooking up with friends on the weekend? The former will need more stable foundations, while the latter can take a more relaxed approach.

2. What players are you targeting? Do you have a core group of friends ready to play? Or will you recruit players from the local community and build a team from scratch? If it’s the latter, how are you going to find them?

3. What age group and gender? Are you starting an adult team, a youth team, a men’s team or a women’s team? Do you want your club to feature a mix of these? Will you start with one team and aim to expand over the coming seasons?

4. Do you want to grow your club? Many team founders are happy establishing a single team and sticking with that. Others want to build clubs that serve a broader section of the local community. If you want to build a bigger club, what do you imagine it looking like in five years? What about ten? 

5. What kind of community engagement are you looking for? Some clubs become a social hub for the local community and play a broader role than just that of a sports team. This is by no means the only option, though. 

The first steps to starting a football team

Having set your goals, it is now time to think about the practical aspects of starting a football team and playing matches. While it would be nice to think it is as simple as getting 11 players together, it involves a lot more planning, organisation and work than that.

1. Choose your team name

Let’s start with a fun one. Picking your team name helps you establish your identity. Most names are geographic in nature and showcase some link to the area in which the team is based. But this is by no means compulsory. It can be something personal to the founding members, or you can get more creative. However, you do need to make it unique. There shouldn’t be any other teams with a similar name in your region. It will need to meet certain decency requirements or it will be rejected by your local league.

2. Register with your county FA

Next up, register with your local county football association (FA). Your county FA is typically determined by the location of your home ground and the type of league you want to join. Reach out to the county FA to check whether they have vacancies in your desired league and ask them about registration requirements. Once affiliated, you may be able to access valuable resources and support that will help you grow your team. As part of the registration process, you will usually have to submit the relevant forms, provide details about your organisational structure and pay the registration fee. You may not be able to fulfil these requirements until you complete some of the later steps, but it is good to get the ball rolling.

3. Secure a home ground

Every team needs a home ground to host matches and visiting teams. This can be a local park, school field or a dedicated sports facility. When choosing a home ground, consider the following factors:

• Location and accessibility - you want your home ground to be conveniently located for your team, so they don’t have to travel far for matches.

• Facilities - as well as the absolute essentials, such as goalposts, try to find grounds with supporting facilities, such as changing rooms, showers and toilets.

• Cost - cost varies dramatically from ground to ground and often depends on who owns the pitch and the facilities available. Some ground owners will charge per game, while others will charge for the entire season. If you are lucky, you may even be able to find a pitch that doesn’t require you to pay.

4. Elect team officials

All football teams require a core group of players or associated people to run things. At this stage, you need to elect volunteers to key roles. We’re going to dedicate an entire section to this later in the blog, so we’ll leave it there for now.

5. Recruit players

Now, you need to start recruiting players to fill the rest of the spots in your squad. Depending on how competitive you intend to be, this could be as simple as asking friends of friends or holding trials. When recruiting, the following factors are important:

• Team size - while you will need a minimum of 11 players to field a full team, most teams aim for a squad of at least 15 players. This allows for tactical substitutions and covers any injuries that may occur. Realistically, aim for around 18+ players, as it is rare that the entire squad is available for selection on any given weekend.

• Use all available recruitment channels - while spreading the word among players’ friends, family and colleagues is a great place to start, you can also use social media, local newspapers and community boards to raise awareness.

• Organise trials - if you’re taking things more seriously, trials are a great way to identify local talent. You can use the same recruitment methods (social media etc.) to advertise these events.

6. Look at other competitions

Most regions organise additional competitions and tournaments on top of the standard league. These usually adopt a cup knockout format and offer your team additional playing opportunities and the possibility of a long and glorious cup run.

Getting your team organisation right

All clubs affiliating with a league need a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer at the very least. Youth clubs will also need a Welfare Officer. These positions should be filled by volunteers elected by club members. Many teams also elect a management committee and appoint a manager or coach.

1. Manager or coach

The manager and/or coach are responsible for planning and delivering training sessions, choosing the matchday squad and making tactical decisions during matches. In more informal clubs, a player can take on this role. But those teams hoping to compete will benefit from appointing an experienced manager.

2. Club secretary

The club secretary handles all team administration, from registering players with the league and communicating schedules to the manager to booking pitches and dealing with the local FA. Without a good club secretary, things soon fall apart and become extremely disorganised.

3. Treasurer

The treasurer is in charge of the club’s finances. They collect membership fees, manage purchases and keep the club within budget. They also play a crucial role in helping to obtain sponsorship. The treasurer will need to open a bank account in the club’s name and keep a record of all club transactions. These will be audited on an annual basis.

Sponsorship is invaluable for amateur clubs to get started and can also help maintain and buy equipment and kit to help the club progress. Quote Sports Insurance provides sponsorship for sports clubs, to find out more get in touch with us.

4. Welfare officer

The welfare officer is in charge of player safeguarding in youth teams. Their responsibilities include ensuring all necessary CRB checks are conducted and enrolling relevant adults on the Safeguarding Children Workshop mandated by the FA.

5. Matchday roles

As well as these permanent roles, you need to fill two main matchday roles. First, choose a team captain to lead the team and liaise with the referee during matches. Second, you need to provide a linesman. In most amateur leagues, the league organises and provides the referee. But linesmen are drawn from the home and away team’s squad or supporters.

What you need to buy

While it doesn’t require much money to start an amateur football club, it does require some initial investment in equipment. Typical costs include:

• A club kit - all teams need a home kit and access to an alternative colour should there be a kit clash.

• Training equipment - usually clubs invest in balls, cones and markers for drills, training bibs and portable goals for smaller-sided training games. 

• First aid supplies - clubs need to be prepared for injuries and accidents and should invest in a first aid kit.

• Matchday supplies - you may also need to invest in supplies for matchday. These include nets, corner flags, line marking equipment and a high-quality match ball.

Football club insurance

Finally, all amateur clubs should consider taking out comprehensive sports-specialist insurance policies. Accidents, incidents and injuries are common in the amateur game and having the right financial protections in place can help ensure the survival of your club should something bad happen. 

Most local FAs require clubs to have a minimum level of insurance before they are permitted to participate in competitive games. We recommend considering the following types of insurance:

• Public liability insurance - covers the club should someone be injured due to negligence during training sessions or a match.

• Ground and pitch cover - protects your facilities in the event of accidental damage or vandalism.

• Club equipment cover - ensures you receive financial compensation in the event that club equipment is damaged or stolen.

• Personal accident insurance -  a group policy for personal accident is available to add on to the club policy, but the benefits are often not enough to cover a players full income or cater for all their personal needs and requirements, therefore a personal income protection or personal accident plan to specifically cover football will be best in most cases.

Medical costs are not generally covered under a team policy, therefore again, a personal medical policy taken by each player to suit their individual needs will usually be best. These products can be tailored to the players needs and budget. Find out more on our football insurance page.

Starting an amateur football team with Quote Sports Insurance

At Quote Sports Insurance, we provide clubs with sports-specialist insurance policies tailored to your needs. Our experienced advisors will help you find the cover you need at a competitive price, ensuring you are neither under or over-insured and saving you money. If you are considering starting an amateur football club, we recommend contacting our team to discuss your insurance options and even the possibility of Quote Sports Insurance sponsorship!