How to Start a Sunday League Football Team

Are you a fan of the game of football? Maybe you make it a habit to never miss a game of your favourite team? You may even take your love and passion of the sport a little further and love playing it yourself when you get a chance. But just playing a casual game with friends may not seem like it’s enough. There is no set schedule and you never know when you’ll get to play again. So, why not start your very own Sunday league football team?

Starting your own team means that you’ll have a schedule and a set game day that you get to look forward to, and you have a bunch of friends who are just as committed to the game as you. But how do you go about setting up your own Sunday league football team? Well, it doesn’t have to be as daunting and as intimidating as it may seem. Let’s take a closer look.

Start by Getting the Word Out There

The first step will be to get the word out there about your intentions. Let your friends know you want to start a team, and have them spread the word to their own friends. If you’re starting your own league, then you will need more than one team, so the more people you can reach out to, the better.

A good way to do this is through your social media channels. Use things like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to generate interest and build your list of players.

What About Team Names?

You’re also going to need some team names, but this can be determined once you get a handle on the numbers you’re dealing with. Exactly how many teams will play?

As for team assignments, this is something you can do yourself, but to keep it unbiased, you may want to go the route of pulling names from a hat. The last thing you want to do is stack a team and have all your friends upset with how things turned out. The whole point is to have fun, get out there and enjoy the sport you love, and not worry so much about winning and losing.

Secure Field Time

You may also need to speak to your town/city about securing time at the local football field. Some may require that you reserve the field(s) for a specific date and time each week, whereas others may not require any sort of booking or registration. Keep in mind there may also be a fee associated with securing field time, which will then need to be shared by all the players.

Team Shirts Can Be a Nice Touch

While you probably don’t want to go all out and spend a fortune on customised football shirts, you and your friends may want to do colour coded shirts to represent the different teams. They can be blank practice shirts to keep the cost down, but it will still help you feel like a team.

Communicate the Rules of the Game and League Clearly

Before the first game even begins, you’ll also want to distribute the rules of the game and the league to all players. These should be straightforward and easy to understand.

Keep in mind that some people choose to go the route of no-touch (meaning no tackling), to ensure no one risks injuries. The last thing anyone wants is to have a friend hurt in play, unable to go to work, and rack up costs associated with doctor visits. The game can still be a whole lot of fun without tackling and rough-housing.

Make Sure You’ve Got Trophy Cups for the End-of-Season

Of course, as the season starts to come to a close, you need to start thinking about the championships, which means sports trophies. Everyone loves to be able to take home engraved trophies at the end of the season, as it acts as a great memory and shows they worked hard to achieve it.

In general, you’ll want to give out 1st 2nd 3rd place awards, and a football trophy – a trophy with a simple football on it is typically the best option. There will be no forgetting or confusing that trophy for any others in their home collection. You can engrave a trophy here at Joblot Trophies with your team’s details or even opt for medals instead.  The trophy engraving just helps to take it to the next level.

This is something that younger teams especially will love to receive, as it makes all that hard work feel worthwhile.

You’re Ready to Enjoy the Game

By following these steps, you’ll be able to create your own Sunday league football team(s) that makes it possible for you to enjoy the sport you love so much on a weekly basis.