Why pre-season is a timing problem
Most of what goes wrong in August isn't because the secretary forgot a job — it's because they did it too late. Affiliation needs to be in before the league will accept your entry. Registration needs returning players signed before you can fairly drop anyone or sign new ones. Kit takes weeks to arrive. Pitch bookings get snapped up by the clubs that ask first. None of it is hard on its own; it's the order and the lead times that catch people out.
So this guide is organised by when, not by topic. A typical grassroots season kicks off late August or early September, so “8 weeks out” lands around late June to early July — right about now. Work backwards from your league's first scheduled fixture and slot these jobs in. If you're earlier or later than this, just shift the whole thing along; the sequence is what matters.
Find your league's pre-season calendar and your county FA's affiliation window first — those two dates anchor everything else. If you don't have them, email both today. Every other job on this list hangs off them.
8 weeks out: affiliation & the big rocks
This is the paperwork-and-money stretch. The jobs here have the longest lead times and the hardest external deadlines, so they go first. If you only do one thing eight weeks out, sort the affiliation — the league can't enter you without it, and the county FA's system gets slow as the deadline nears.
- Confirm your league entry. Tell the league how many teams you're entering and in which age groups or divisions. Get written confirmation back — not a corridor conversation.
- Renew your county FA affiliation. This is the big one. Affiliation usually covers your club registration, public liability and personal accident insurance for the season. Fees, opening dates and exact requirements vary by county, so check with your county FA — don't assume last year's numbers still apply.
- Sort insurance. Often bundled into affiliation via the county FA's preferred partner, but confirm what's actually covered, especially if you run a clubhouse, store equipment, or hold cash on match days.
- Renew or apply for any standard / accreditation your league requires (for example FA accreditation), if yours expires this summer.
- Set the season budget with your treasurer. What's coming in (subs, sponsorship, shop) versus going out (pitches, refs, kit, league and FA fees). If you're new to the numbers, the treasurer guide walks through the whole year.
If you're a brand-new club rather than a returning one, affiliation and league entry are a bigger job than a renewal — our guide on registering a grassroots team with your FA and league covers the first-time route step by step.
4 weeks out: players, subs & kit
Now the squad comes together. The order here matters: re-register the players you already have before you go chasing new ones, so you know exactly how many places you're filling and aren't promising spots you don't have.
- Re-register returning players. Send the registration link or forms to last season's families first. Confirm who's staying, who's moving up an age group, and who's not coming back.
- Sign new players for the gaps. Once you know your numbers, advertise the open places — on your website, in the local parents' groups, at the school gate.
- Collect consents while you're at it. For youth football you need parental consent for participation, photography and any medical info, captured cleanly per child. Doing it now, at registration, beats chasing forms in October.
- Set your subs for the season. Agree the monthly or one-off figure with the committee, factor in a hardship policy for families who need it, and write down what subs actually cover. The guide to collecting subs from parents covers how to set the number and collect it without chasing cash at training.
- Order kit early. Match strips, training tops and goalkeeper kit can take weeks, and suppliers get swamped in August. Confirm sizes, sponsor logos and squad numbers before you order, and budget for the up-front cost — the supplier wants paying before subs roll in.
Decide your subs figure before you advertise places, not after. Families want to know the cost up front, and a number you have to revise upward in week three is the fastest way to lose goodwill. Set what you genuinely need from day one.
2 weeks out: pitches, fixtures & coaches
The squad's settling; now it's about where and when you'll actually play and train, and making sure everyone running a session is cleared to do so.
- Book pitches and facilities. Confirm match pitches, training space and changing rooms with the council, school or 3G provider. Get the booking in writing and check whether you're sharing slots with other clubs.
- Lock in training times. Agree the night and slot for each team, then publish them. Coaches and parents both need this fixed early so it doesn't clash with school clubs and family routines.
- Check coach DBS and qualifications. Make sure every coach has an in-date FA DBS (Enhanced) and that any required coaching, first-aid and safeguarding certificates haven't lapsed over the summer. Renewals take time, so flag anything expiring now. If in doubt about what's required, check with your county FA.
- Map the fixtures. Once the league publishes the fixture list, get it into your calendar and cross-check for clashes — two of your teams needing the same pitch on the same Saturday is a problem you want to spot now, not the night before.
- Confirm match-day roles. Who's first-aid qualified, who handles refs and fees, who's the safeguarding lead on the day. Sort the rota before the first game.
For the wider picture beyond pre-season — committee roles, policies and keeping the club ticking through the year — the guide to running a football club is the companion piece to this one.
Week one: go live & tell everyone
Everything's booked and signed. The last job is communication — making sure every parent knows the times, the venue, the kit and the cost before the first session, so week one runs on the pitch and not in your inbox.
- Refresh the club website. Update each team and squad page with the new players, swap in this season's fixtures and training times, clear out last year's news, and check the sponsors and safeguarding pages are current. A site that's right on day one saves you dozens of “what time is training?” messages. If you don't have a site yet, a free football club website builder gets you team pages, a fixtures calendar and a news feed without any code.
- Send the “new season” message to parents. One clear email per team: first training date, venue and time, what kit to bring, subs amount and how to pay, and who to contact. Send it through your club's member email so it actually reaches everyone rather than getting lost in a group chat.
- Publish the calendar. Get fixtures and training into the events calendar so families can see the whole season at a glance and add it to their own diaries.
- Post a season-opener news item. A short “we're back” post on the website, shared to your social channels, sets the tone and pulls in any last stragglers looking for a club.
- Do a final headcount. Registered players versus expected attendance per team. Chase the gaps before, not after, the first session.
This is where a proper club website earns its keep: team and player pages, a shared fixtures calendar, member email to the right group of parents, and player records with parental consent built in all live in one place, so the secretary updates once instead of re-sending the same information five times. The Free plan covers all of it at £0.
GrassrootsFC's Collections feature — Direct Debit subs via GoCardless — is in development and rolling out to all plans, including free. When it lands it'll fold the subs job into the same place as your registrations and player records. For now, the subs guide covers the options you can use today.
The whole list, to print
Pin this on the committee noticeboard or paste it into your shared drive. Tick as you go.
- 8 weeks: confirm league entry · renew county FA affiliation · sort insurance · renew accreditation · set the budget
- 4 weeks: re-register returning players · sign new players · capture consents · set subs · order kit
- 2 weeks: book pitches & facilities · lock training times · check coach DBS & quals · map fixtures · confirm match-day roles
- Week one: refresh the website · send the new-season parent email · publish the calendar · post a season-opener · final headcount
Do these in order, leave the long-lead jobs at the top, and the first Saturday looks after itself. The clubs that have a stressful August are almost always the ones that started in August. Start in late June and you'll be watching the football instead of answering your phone on the touchline.
Get the website job ticked off in an afternoon
Team pages, a fixtures calendar, news and a member email list that reaches every parent — the pre-season communication step, sorted in one place. GrassrootsFC builds your club a site for free, no code required.
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