FIND MEFOOTBALL

Grassroots football guides

Everything here is written for the people who actually keep grassroots football running: the parent working out whether an event suits their child, the volunteer running a team on a Sunday morning, and the organiser trying to fill a tournament.

Start with the question you need answered, or jump to the section for your role. You can read any guide without signing up.

Rules and formats

If you need to know what format an age group should be playing, start here. The rules are set separately in each of the four UK nations and they are not the same.

Age group rules across the UKA comparison of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a route into the full rules for each.
EnglandScotlandWalesNorthern Ireland

Starting and joining football

Working out where to begin, and what to ask before committing to a club.

A very small football, a pair of small shin pads and a folded bib on grass beside a pop-up mini goal and soft cones.When can my child start playing footballThe age each nation starts at, and the beginner sessions that come earlier.A clipboard and pencil on the grass beside a football and a folded scarf, with a portable goal on the pitch behind.How to choose a grassroots football clubWhat to look for, and what to ask before committing.A new football kit laid out flat on grass: shirt, shorts, socks, boots, shin pads and a water bottle beside a ball.Joining a clubWhat a first season actually involves.A football in a goal net on grass with a corner flag and cones, and a bib on the touchline bench.Girls' grassroots footballIncluding how long mixed football runs in each nation.A lanyard with a blank card, a whistle and a first-aid kit on an empty touchline bench beside a pitch.Safeguarding in grassroots footballAnd who to speak to if something worries you.Two kit bags side by side on a touchline bench, one worn and one new, a folded shirt on each and a football on the grass between them, with a goal behind.Changing football clubsHow registration and moving between clubs works in England.

Which kind of football

Not every club is the same thing, and not every child wants the same thing. What the names mean, and the routes that exist alongside a mainstream club.

Three football grounds side by side: a village pitch with a simple goal, a training ground with cones, and a larger pitch with floodlights and a low stand.Club, academy, football school or development centre?The three questions that tell you what your child is actually joining.A small-sided pitch seen from a wide level path with a gentle ramp onto the grass, a low portable goal, an orange audible ball beside an ordinary one, soft cones and a bench.Disability and inclusive footballMainstream clubs, pan-disability and impairment-specific routes, and what to ask.A football in a goal net on grass with a corner flag and cones, and a bib on the touchline bench.Girls' footballGirls-only, mixed and where each nation stands.

Playing, tournaments and opportunities

The things that come up once football is part of the week.

An empty tournament field with small pitches, bunting on poles, a folding chair and a flask on the touchline and a gazebo frame.Parent guide to youth football tournamentsWhat to expect on the day, and what to take.Three footballs on three plinths of increasing height on grass, with a portable goal and cones behind.Choosing the right tournament levelSo a team is neither out of its depth nor unchallenged.A football in a goal net on grass with a corner flag and cones, and a bib on the touchline bench.Girls' grassroots footballIncluding how long mixed football runs in each nation.A stopwatch, a whistle and a clipboard on an empty bench, with a grid of cones on the grass and a goal in the distance.Football trialsWhat to expect, and how to check an approach is genuine.A summer training field with a ladder drill on the grass, a portable goal, a rail of bibs, a crate of water bottles and footballs in a net.Choosing a holiday football campWhat to check before you book a week of it.A lanyard with a blank card, a whistle and a first-aid kit on an empty touchline bench beside a pitch.Safeguarding in grassroots footballAnd who to speak to if something worries you.

If you coach or manage a team

Most team managers are volunteers doing this alongside a job. These guides focus on the practical decisions around entering and attending a tournament.

A team manager's bench at the pitch edge: a blank entry form on a clipboard, a calendar, a wallet, folded bibs, a net of footballs, a bottle carrier and a first aid pouch, with a goal and a row of cones behind.Entering your team in a tournamentSanction, season and format, playing time, entry terms and photography, checked before you pay.An open kit bag on the grass with bibs, a pump, a first-aid kit and footballs spilling out, and a clipboard on top.Team manager checklist for tournament dayWhat to confirm before you enter, and what to take with you.Three footballs on three plinths of increasing height on grass, with a portable goal and cones behind.Choosing the right tournament levelFor the squad you actually have.Four football pitches of increasing size side by side on grass, each with a ball on its centre spot, from a tiny small-sided pitch to a full one with a goal.Age group rules for your nationIncluding squad limits and match lengths.

Coaching, private and volunteer

For a parent thinking about paid coaching for a child, and for the adult who has been asked to take a team.

A single pitch in a park with one goal, a ladder drill and a few cones laid out for one player, a folded bib and a ball, and a park bench at the touchline with a water bottle on it.Private football coaching for childrenWhat to ask first, and what a DBS check does and does not tell you.A coach's kit on a low bench on mown grass: an open laptop with a blank screen, a mug, a whistle on a lanyard, a net of footballs, a stack of cones, a stopwatch and a folded bib, with a hedge and trees behind.List your football coaching on FindMeFootballThe two-minute form, sessions and prices whenever you like, and how parents get in touch.A coach's kit on a touchline bench: a whistle on a lanyard, a blank clipboard with a pen, a stopwatch, a mesh bag of footballs and a stack of cones, with a goal on the grass behind.How to become a grassroots football coachWhat the club puts in place first, and the current course names.A folding table on mown grass with a folder, a pen, a calculator, a whistle on a lanyard and a card reader laid out on it, a mesh bag of footballs and two orange cones beside it, and a small portable goal in the distance.Setting up as a self-employed football coachThe 2026 DBS changes, qualifications, insurance, HMRC and the data you hold on children.

Coaching where you live

The qualifications are national. What is local is the support around them, which association covers your club, and where to coach.

A whistle, a clipboard, a stopwatch and orange cones on a white touchline bench with a mesh bag of footballs beside it, a portable goal behind, and a line of oast houses among apple trees in the distance.Football coaching in KentWhich courses are national and which support is local, what Kent FA runs, the checks you need, and where to coach.A whistle, a clipboard, a stopwatch and orange cones on a white touchline bench with a mesh bag of footballs beside it, a portable goal behind, and a calm blue sea with a sailing boat and a low green island beyond.How to become a football coach in HampshireWhich qualifications are national, what Hampshire FA provides locally, the checks you need, and how to find a club.A clipboard, a stopwatch, a whistle and orange cones on a blue park bench with a mesh bag of footballs beside it, a portable goal behind, and green downland ending in white chalk cliffs above the sea.How to become a football coach in SussexWhat Sussex FA's SO GOOD Coaching Network offers, which checks you need, and how to find a club.A whistle, a clipboard, a stopwatch and orange cones on a touchline bench in a city park with a mesh bag of footballs beside it, a portable goal and park railings behind, and a plain city skyline in the distance.How to become a football coach in LondonWhich associations your club may be affiliated to, the checks you need, and how to find a club.

If you run a club

For committee members, secretaries and anyone who has been asked to sort out the club's online presence.

A wooden noticeboard at the edge of a pitch with a blank card pinned to it, a football and a corner flag beside it.How to claim and complete your club listingAnd what claiming does and does not mean.A new goal still half-wrapped on an empty pitch, boxed goalposts and a roll of netting beside it, and a folding table with a blank clipboard, a whistle, cones and a bag of new footballs.How to start a grassroots football clubYour County FA first, the people you need, affiliation and a league.A lanyard with a blank card, a whistle and a first-aid kit on an empty touchline bench beside a pitch.Safeguarding in grassroots footballUseful for seeing what parents are being told to ask.A clipboard and pencil on the grass beside a football and a folded scarf, with a portable goal on the pitch behind.How to choose a grassroots football clubFor the same reason.A clubhouse noticeboard on a wooden wall with a blank sheet pinned to it, a lanyard with a blank card hanging on a hook beside it, and a folded green bib and a notebook with a pen on the shelf below.The club welfare officerWhat the role involves, the checks and training required, and what changed on 1 September 2026.A wooden plaque with three plain stars on a wooden clubhouse wall, and on the shelf beneath it a folder with a pen and a black-and-white football on a tuft of grass.England Football AccreditationWhat the one, two and three star ratings actually mean, and how to apply through the Club Portal.

Players, funding and sponsorship for your club

The three questions a committee asks every season: where the players come from, where the money comes from, and what a sponsor may put on the shirt.

A wooden noticeboard beside a pitch with a blank poster pinned to it, a folded bib and a football on the grass.Recruiting players for a grassroots teamWhat an advert can and cannot say about children, and the notice of approach rules.A stack of blank forms with a pen and a calculator on a touchline table, with a roll of new goal netting and wrapped goalposts on the grass beside it.Funding and grantsHow to find what is open now and whether it is worth the hours.A plain green junior shirt laid flat on the grass with a blank white panel on its chest, a folded agreement and a pen beside it, a football, a corner flag and a goal behind.Sponsorship for a grassroots football clubWhat a youth kit may carry, and what to put in writing.

If your club is thinking of hosting a tournament

The five stages in order, each with its own guide. Written for England; each page signposts the other three nations.

An organiser's table at the pitch edge: a paper schedule weighted by a whistle, coloured bibs, a clipboard, a stopwatch and a bag of footballs, with goals and cones on the grass behind.How to organise a grassroots football tournamentThe five stages in order, the 2026/27 formats and how much football a site can hold.A clubhouse table with a calculator, a pen, an open notebook, a mug of tea, keys and a rolled pitch plan, with a goal on the grass through the window.Should your club host a tournament?What hosting commits you to, what you need in place first, and whether it pays.A laptop with a plain screen on a wooden desk beside a closed folder, a blank sheet under a bulldog clip, a pen, a rubber stamp, a small trophy and a football, against a plain wall.Getting your tournament sanctionedThe Competition Portal, what your County FA adds, and how far ahead to start.A clubhouse noticeboard with a poster showing a football, a blank calendar page with a date circled, a stack of entry forms on the shelf below and a box of drawing pins.How to fill a tournamentWhat entering teams need to know, your entry terms, and where to promote it.A tournament morning: a first aid kit and defibrillator case on a folding table beside a whistle, referee cards and a water station, with a gazebo, goals and cones on the grass behind.Running the dayMatch officials and the referee age rules, first aid, safeguarding visibility and weather.The evening after a tournament: a folding table at the pitch edge with a closed cash tin, a blank notebook, keys and rolled bunting, a portable goal, a bag of footballs, cones and a litter bag on the grass.After the daySafeguarding follow-up, referee reporting, incidents, the accounts and next year's plan.

If you organise tournaments

Listing a tournament on FindMeFootball is free.

An empty tournament pitch with a small trophy on a folding table at the touchline, bunting on poles and a ball on the centre spot.How to list a football tournamentIncluding what to include so teams can decide quickly.A tournament morning: three small pitches with portable goals, a folding table with a blank clipboard and a whistle, a gazebo, bunting, cones and a bag of footballs.Running tournament day on FindMeFootballAdding teams, generating fixtures, entering results and sharing the live schedule.Four football pitches of increasing size side by side on grass, each with a ball on its centre spot, from a tiny small-sided pitch to a full one with a goal.Age group rules for the nation where the event is playedPlus any league or association requirements that apply.

Not sure where to start?

Find a club near you

Search grassroots clubs by location and age group. Where information is available you can check it before contacting the club.

Browse clubs

Find a tournament near you

Search tournaments, festivals and camps by location, age group, format and level, then check the individual listing before entering.

Search near me

Organising a tournament?

Create a free tournament listing on FindMeFootball and let teams find your event.

List your event