subject: Step-by-step Guide To Setting Up A New Football (soccer) Team [print this page] There are several stages to setting up a football team for the first time.
Decide If It's For Fun Or Competition Or Both. If you just want to set up a team for friendlies then you can go straight on to advertising for players, see below. If you want your team to play in cup or league competitions then it's necessary to find an authority that will welcome you. You will need to decide on your selection policy are you picking the best players or those who turn up each week for matches and training? Can you handle the stress of picking the team? There will always be some players who are disapointed with your selection. Can you keep them happy? Do you want to?
Find A League There are many different leagues to join. It's important to enter a league that is suitable for your players. You players may not want to get beat, or win, all the time, so find the right level. Go along to a few games in that league to judge the level of ability. It's also worth asking some teams in the league for friendly matches. You will find links to leagues on the Football Association website.
Advertise For Players There are several great sources you can advertise for players on. Gumtree is free and local, also try local newspapers. On the web there is a great website called FootballPlayersWANTED.co.uk where teams can advertise for players for free. Make sure that you have enough players this usually means about twice the number in your team i.e. If you are playing 11-a-side have around 22 players in your squad.
Organise Contacts and Lines Of Communication This is not the most exciting part of organising a football team but it is essential. Make sure that you have everyone's contact details email address, phone number (mobile, home and work) and home address. Games will be postponed at the last minute and other unforeseen events will happen so it's important that you can contact everyone quickly. Also, people should be encouraged to let you know if they can not make a game or training it's only polite and saves a lot of frustration. Consider setting up a website or Facebook group for your team. And try to communicate after the game too, with a thanks to everyone and/or a match report.
Find A Home Venue Speak to your local council and they will be able to supply you with a list of pitches full and smaller size. Alternatively check out networks of pitches such as GOALS! And Power League. Or just play in your local park. The Football Foundation runs the PitchFinder.org.uk website, which is very useful.
Organise Training If you are serious you will need to organise a time and day for weekly or biweekly training. Many players may just not be able to make these sessions but they are essential for team progress and fitness. Check out grassrootscoaching.com for more detailed coaching and training advice.
Insurance Required Depending on the league you are joining you may need to have insurance. Or you may want to do this for peace of mind. We all have to make a living!
Organise Kit do you need to buy kit or will each player be responsible for taking along their own items? Many of the high street sports shops sell cheap kit and kit bags. And remember a First Aid kit. Oh, and a ball. And water.
Start Playing Football Make sure that everyone knows how to get to the game and try to organise lifts for people if you can, public transport can be unpredictable. Turn up to the games with plenty time to get ready and to warm up. You'll start the game more focussed, and you'll have less injuries making it easier for you as the season goes on. Enjoy your game.
Ongoing you will often lose players for a variety of reasons people leave the local area, get injured, have kids etc. In particular, you will lose players at the end of season, as people retire from playing or just want to use their spare time for other things. It is thus important to continue advertising for new players and for new teams to play. Also, you may want to set up a bank account to handle the pitch fees etc.
