Setting up a club

Setting Up A New Club

Setting Up A New Club

We understand that setting up a new football club can be daunting, but our goal is to try and make it as easy as possible for you

From getting the club committee together to making sure you've got everything ahead of your first game, we've listed all the different things to consider when setting up a new team below so you can make sure you have everything ready to go for your new season!

Get In Touch

Football Development Team

Development@LondonFA.com

The First Steps:

Clubs must appoint a Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary to enable the club to function effectively within County FA Rules and Regulations. It is also suggested that other people are appointed to assist in other administrative areas of the club. If the club is a Youth club it must also appoint a Club Welfare Officer.

Once your New Club Form has been submitted to us, one of our LFA administrators will check/accept your club name and activate your new club on the Whole Game System. This will be where club secretaries can complete the affiliation process for the current season (see step 5.)

Once you have received confirmation that your club name has been accepted, a club official (Secretary/Chairman/Welfare Officer) will be required to email fachecks@thefa.com to obtain a club verification PIN which will be used for any future FA DBS’ applications, such as coaches, officials, volunteers.

Please ensure you attach this FA CRC Online Club Registration Form to your email.

The ongoing work to make the game as safe and enjoyable as possible is led by The FA, the game’s governing body in England, and is delivered through London FA in conjunction with leagues and clubs across the capital. It is important that all appointed club officials have the correct safeguarding qualifications and hold a valid FA DBS should the club have any players under the age of 18.

Please refer to the infographics below for clarification on what is expected of clubs.

All safeguarding courses can be found here.

Can't see the infographics? Click for the London FA Coaches and Managers and Youth Club Officials Compulsory Qualification information.

As a new club it will be important to raise funds to run the club and initially these will probably be from player memberships and subscriptions. It is also advisable to produce a list of costs to run your team which will help you create a budget of income and expenditure for the season. You will be required to send in a copy of your club accounts annually.

Visit our Finance section for more support.

It is important that clubs are fully knowledgeable about the rules of each competition that they may wish to enter. All discipline at grassroots is administered by the County Football Association and the Secretary of the club is responsible to ensure that all players are eligible to play. If clubs have any doubts about player eligibility, for example suspensions, they should contact us for details. For youth teams, it is important to be aware of child protection safeguards and advice is available from our County Welfare Officer.

You can advertise for players on our Player Noticeboard.

It is compulsory for all affiliated clubs in your county to be covered by Public Liability Insurance and Personal Accident Insurance. At London FA, we have worked to get the best insurance deals for our clubs, and you can now purchase both Personal Accident and Public Liability insurance from our providers Sportsguard during the affiliation process. Full details of the prices for these insurance policies can be found in our affiliation guidance below.

Download the brochure from Sportsguard to find out more.

A Club will need to affiliate to a parent County Football Association - this is decided by where the club headquarters are located. To affiliate to London FA, your headquarters must fall within a 12 mile radius of Charing Cross train station. 

The affiliation process is an eight-step online form in which you will input all the relevant details about your club, including kit details, home ground, club officials, team information, County Cup entries and more. Once you have completed the online form, it will be reviewed by a member of London FA staff who will contact you directly to let you know if any edits need to be made or if you are ready to pay your invoice and be issued with an affiliation number. 

Please note that clubs need to renew their affiliation every season and failure to do so may result in a fine or suspension if you continue to play sanctioned league football without affiliating. 

In order to start this process, please simply log in to the Whole Game System. Click on your club name and choose the affiliation option on the left-hand menu. If you need any additional support, please refer to our Affiliation Guide below.

Please note that it is now mandatory for all Clubs with youth sections to have an appointed Club Welfare Officer. This is also recommended for Adult Clubs with under 18 players. Requirements and further information can be found on the Safeguarding page.

new club form

To set up your new club, make sure you complete the New Club Form.

THE Second STEPS:

Head to our Find a League page to find the league most appropriate for your team, and then contact them to find out how you can join their league.

Adopt the following policies via the Club Portal Dashboard:

  • Club rules
  • Safeguarding policies
  • Equality policies
  • Football leadership diversity code
  • Respect codes of conduct

Click here for guidance.

Fixtures are administered by the appropriate competition secretary, who advises clubs of forthcoming matches. If it is a home match, the club secretary must arrange hire of a pitch (unless this is arranged by the league), notify opponents and match officials of kick-off time and location of venue.

Ensure you pass on results of your matches to comply with competition regulations. For County Football Association competitions, the results are collected by each League and therefore you will only need to notify your own league.

All County Football Associations run cup competitions which give an opportunity for teams to play against clubs from different leagues or divisions.

Please make sure you read the relevant rules relating to the league/competition entered to ensure you abide by them. Each league/competition may vary with regard to their requirements. If in doubt contact the league/competition organisers.

Please be aware that the County FA only deal with fixtures relating to their own cup competitions.

If the league does not allocate pitches, apply to your Local Authority, other local teams, Parish council or owner of a private ground to hire a pitch. Please note hire charges will vary.

The Football Foundation's PitchFinder service can help find an appropriate pitch for your club.

For more information on facilities, head to our Facilities and Investment page.

Purchase suitable equipment prior to the start of your fixtures and ensure you have sufficient equipment for all teams in your club. The necessary equipment will include, playing strip, first aid kit, nets and balls.

Find out more here.

You're now all set to play!

So what can you do to develop your club?

We recommend clubs apply for England Football Accreditation, which sends a clear signal to your community that you value the importance of being an accessible, safe and sustainable club.

Your club will receive FREE footballs and kit vouchers annually.

Click the image below to find out more.

ef accred

diversity code

Help your club follow good practice by signing up to the Football Leadership Diversity Code.

Respect

The FA's Respect programme provides a series of tools for leagues, clubs, coaches, players and parents from grassroots to elite football - to help ensure a safe, positive environment in which to play the game.