How to organise a weekly 5-a-side

1. Pick one slot and keep it

Same day, same time, same pitch, every week. A fixed slot is what turns a one-off kickabout into a habit: people plan their week around it, and nobody has to ask "are we playing this week?".

Pick a time most people can make most weeks rather than the perfect time for a few. Early evening midweek is the classic for a reason: after work, before it gets too late.

2. Book the pitch as a block

Most venues will take a block booking for the same slot every week, and some give regular bookings priority. Ask what happens if you need to cancel: notice periods and fees vary, and you want to know before the first wet week in January.

Work out the cost per head from the start: the pitch fee divided by ten. Everyone knowing the number up front saves arguments later.

3. Have more people than you need

Ten players means a group of more like 14 to 16. Every week someone's injured, working late or away, and a group of exactly ten means a game of eight.

Keep a few names who don't play every week but are happy to fill in. They're what saves the game at 5pm on the day.

4. Make "who's in" one decision, not 80 messages

The group chat is great for banter and terrible for headcounts. Set a deadline, like midday the day before, and a simple rule: the first ten to say they're in are in, and everyone after that goes on a waiting list in order.

When someone drops out, the first person on the waiting list moves up. Tell them straight away, and they'll be quicker to fill in next time.

• Deadline: a fixed time, every week, so nobody has to ask.
• First ten in: fair, and it rewards people who answer.
• Waiting list: in order, so dropping out is easy to fix.
• Late drop-outs: agree what happens (see the money section below).

5. Pick fair teams

Nothing kills a weekly game faster than the same lopsided 10–2 every week. Captains picking is slow and leaves someone picked last; pure random puts the two best players together. Balance the teams on how good people are, split the keepers, and swap things around from week to week.

Our guide to picking fair teams goes through the options, and the free team generator does it in seconds.

6. Sort the money before it's a problem

The organiser always ends up paying the pitch and chasing everyone else. Agree how people pay, when they pay, and what happens when someone drops out late, then keep a simple record of who owes what.

There's a whole guide on collecting pitch money, with the rules groups use for no-shows.

7. Make the game the best bit of the week

The groups that last are the ones where something happens after the game: the score posted in the chat, a player of the match, a bit of stick for whoever missed an open goal. It gives people a reason to come back next week, not just a pitch to turn up to.

That's what Squadcard is built around. Players say if they're in from a link, the app picks fair teams from ratings, and after the game everyone rates everyone else. Only totals are ever shown, and everyone's player card moves with how they played.

Questions