How to set up a team

Catenaccio!

Okay, just an idea forming in my head at the moment but I used to be part of a team that played in this league (I think...years ago so my memory of it is pretty foggy): Leinster Football League Counties Division. But for some reason it just all fell apart - I honestly don't know what happened to it, I've left the area since etc. But I'd fancy trying to get the team back up and running - how do I go about doing this? I know I need to contact the people that were involved originally but I'd like to have a bit of a head start on proceedings. I presume it's not as easy as it seems in my head but any advice would be appreciated.

And don't worry, I won't be bringing catenaccio to the midlands league :pac:

_blank_

Setting up a team is not easy, believe me.

Setting up an actual Football Club is harder.

Do you have the bones of a squad?

My brother and his mates used to play football on the local green almost every summer evening, and they decided to start up a team, it ran for three or four season.

They wrote to all the local politicians looking for a handout, I think one or two of them obliged, they wrote to all the local businesses looking for sponsorship and got two on board (shirt sponsors).

You need to approach the local county/city council to get a home pitch, and pay public liability insurance.

You need a manager, you have to set up specific club posts like Treasurer etc, these can be players.

But the first step is getting players, the hardest step is getting players to stay the course, because you won't win many games in your first season.

Now is the time to do it though, you have until August to get everything done.

If you want/need any advice, I'l always available on PM.

Catenaccio!

Appreciate the reply. Hmm...no manager but was tempted to do that job with someone else in mind...maybe a Evans/Benitez job haha. Squad might be the hard part as the area is a pretty strong GAA area but there's a large number of new folk living there who don't have an interest in GAA. And fwiw, I think the team would be pretty young - total opposite to what it was years ago. When I was playing on it I would have been around 16...playing alongside guys around the age of 42! I honestly don't want to go down that route - I'd like them all to be under that age by a good bit!

Does it help in any way that there was a team there up until 7 or 8 years ago?

Regarding the home pitch...I know that the previous pitch is still there but obviously not in use anymore.

_blank_

Who owns the pitch?

You need to find that out. If it's the council they shouldn't have a problem if it's not in use, but you'll have to pay rent and insurance.

So there's your first job

Have you started writing the letters to politicians yet? Local businesses? I mentioned that in my last post.

You are going to need some "start up" money for definite.

What I suggest is doing up 500 or so flyers, post them in people's door, in the local shops/bars and see if you get any interest, do that very soon though. Are you known in the area?

The players will need to pay about a hundred euro or so each at the start, and then subs every week.

Catenaccio!

As for who owns the pitch, I'm not sure. I can find that out easily enough though.

Haven't written any letters to politicians/businessmen as of yet but that can be done. What will writing to the former achieve if you don't mind me asking? Genuine silly question!

What sort of start up money are we looking at here? Rent/Insurance/League fees...

Why do you say 100 euro each at the beginning?

_blank_

Catenaccio! wrote: »

As for who owns the pitch, I'm not sure. I can find that out easily enough though.

Haven't written any letters to politicians/businessmen as of yet but that can be done. What will writing to the former achieve if you don't mind me asking? Genuine silly question!

As I said earlier, my brother's team wrote to the local TD's and Councillors when tey were setting up, looking for money. One or two of them sent cheques.

Catenaccio! wrote: »

What sort of start up money are we looking at here? Rent/Insurance/League fees.

Don't know exactly how much you'll need, again, you'll need to look into it

Catenaccio! wrote: »

Why do you say 100 euro each at the beginning?

2 reasons.

1. You need start-up money.

and just as importantly, if not more so

2. If the lads all pay €100 they'll feel a connection and the chances of them just legging it after 4 weeks are lower.

Imagine if all you are doing is paying a fiver or a tenner each week, and some weeks not getting a game (remember, only a maximum of 14 lads will get a game every week, I assume you'll be looking for a squad of 16-18??). If the team is doing badly, you'll start to see lads not bothering turning up.

There are a few different types of lads, which you need to be aware of.

A. Good player, one of the best on the team, sound lad too, but never goes training. Everyone likes him and sees his worth to the team, but if he keeps getting a game without training, it makes the other lads disheartened. If you drop him and lose the match, everyone starts asking questions as to why he wasn't playing

B. Good player, one of the best on the team, absolute dickhead, but never goes training and just expects a game because he's so good he's undroppable. you need to bite the bullet with these type of fellas, they destroy the club.

C. Decentish player, trains every week, but sometimes doesn't get a game. This is the type of fella who mightn't turn up if the wife is going shopping, but you'd miss him because the week he doesn't turn up is the same week four or five others don't either.

D. Shíte player who's enthusiastic in training, but everyone knows he's shíte. You feel bad for not playing him, but guaranteed to lose if you do. He knows he's shíte too, so doesn't mind too much. Is really only there for the social aspect anyway.

E. Shíte player who thinks he's Pele. Moans when he doesn't get on, questions all your decisions. Again, turf these lads out as soon as you spot them, they also destroy the club.

Catenaccio!

Cheers for all that. Going to have to research it a bit more and then get back to you with more questions possibly! One of the major problems I see at the moment is player commitment (again, stemming from the whole GAA/Soccer divide). I know they have different seasons but they do overlap...how to you combat something like this? I remember when the club was up and running before, they had serious problems with this...players playing one weekend and not the next etc.

Also, with regards to the manager role, I would genuinely like to do this myself along with a good friend of mine - is there anything 'wrong' in this? I know it may come across as selfish but I am trying to get the club back up and running...

Quazzie

Just for reference, what area are you in?

_blank_

Have you any experience managing?

If not, it will be fairly obvious, especially to lads who've played before.

There is a respect thing, if they don't respect you they won't play for you. They'll start doing their own thing on the pitch, and eventually you'll get browned off yourself.

If you want to do it yourself I'd suggest doing a coaching badge or two, or else getting in someone with badges, but that might cost money. It really is a Catch 22.

Managing a football team is not an easy thing to do, easy as it may seem to people posting on a message board, it's not just a matter of watching 16 lads training and then picking the best 11 every week. You need to implement tactics that best fit the players available, you need to start off simple not be too complicated.

Anyway, that's not for now, you don't even have players to manage yet.

keane2097

Best of luck with it - keep us posted on how you're getting on.

Catenaccio!

Quazzie wrote: »

Just for reference, what area are you in?

Leinster area.

RustySpoon

Catenaccio! wrote: »

What sort of start up money are we looking at here? Rent/Insurance/League fees...

Why do you say 100 euro each at the beginning?

I have included some of the startup costs (Approx) that my team incurred in it's first and subsequent years, there are more bits that you may need as we have a rent free pitch that is fully cut for us year round.

Public liability insurance : 400
Players Insurance (Optional) : 300-2000
League fees: 250 Plus 5 per player registered
Home and away kits: 1000
Balls/Flags/nets/cones/bibs etc: 600

One of the first things I would do would be to contact the league you are proposing to join to clarify what the financial outlay will be and what club facilities they require for you to join their league.

I would agree with Des in that getting and maintaining a squad of players is going to be the biggest challenge for the first 3/4 years, you need to get a core of decent lads that will turn up every week in every weather even if you are losing games.

It is also very helpful to have a group of people that are willing to help out in organising and fundraising and to have a neck when asking for sponsorship.

Will you be based in a certain area and would you name the team from that area (this helps with a team/local identity and keeps a steady flow of young players into the group)?

Catenaccio!

Des wrote: »

Have you any experience managing?

If not, it will be fairly obvious, especially to lads who've played before.

There is a respect thing, if they don't respect you they won't play for you. They'll start doing their own thing on the pitch, and eventually you'll get browned off yourself.

If you want to do it yourself I'd suggest doing a coaching badge or two, or else getting in someone with badges, but that might cost money. It really is a Catch 22.

Managing a football team is not an easy thing to do, easy as it may seem to people posting on a message board, it's not just a matter of watching 16 lads training and then picking the best 11 every week. You need to implement tactics that best fit the players available, you need to start off simple not be too complicated.

Anyway, that's not for now, you don't even have players to manage yet.

As you've probably guessed, I've no managerial experience. But like I said, I'd like to do the role alongside someone else. How long does it take to get a coaching badge or two? I totally see where you're coming from in terms of respect etc but I think if people see if as a properly run outfit that has people genuinely interested in it, then they'll be committed. When I was playing it was pretty much all over the place. Sometimes the manager would show up for training, other times not. And people didn't respect him after a while due to all of that.

Quazzie

Before thinking of starting a team you have to ask yourself is there demand in your area for a team. You will need 16-18 players consistently for a team, and don't be fooled by how many you get down training. If you are in a strong GAA area, then you will find that a lot of players will turn up for training but will be nowhere to be found on the frosty Sunday mornings. They do this because they use the soccer training to keep fit during the winter for the GAA.

If you think there is a demand then do as Des says. contact local politicions, businesses, pubs etc. Anybody that you think will donate money. Then think about a field. if you live in a rural area this shouldn't be a problem and you mgiht be lucky enough to find a farmer that will rent you the field for nine months and he grows silage on it for the other three. We currently do that, and we find it drastically reduces our costs.

League fees, insurances (set to rise this year we've been told) are just some of the yearly fees that you'll need, along with initial investment for jerseys, matchballs, training equipment etc.

As for you being a manager, I personally believe that player managers don't work. A manager on the sideline with a competent trustworthy captain is much more effective.

Best of luck anyway and keep us informed of your progress.

token56

Very interesting thread. Myself and a fairly decent number of lads are also in the process of trying to set up a proper team to enter a league at the moment. We are already playing full 11-a sides regularly every week, granted its probably not as good quality as we will face in a league but its something and we know the players who are committed and seem to have a good sized squad. Its a bit of a slow process for us at the moment but one of the things we have found is that depending on the league you are entering they may have requirements about whether your manager needs a certain level of qualification. I'll be keeping a keen eye on this thread and the advice given.

Ferris_Bueller

Catenaccio! wrote: »

As you've probably guessed, I've no managerial experience. But like I said, I'd like to do the role alongside someone else. How long does it take to get a coaching badge or two?

Kickstart 1 is just a days course, Kickstart 2 is 2 days, Youth Cert then is 5 I think. All of which are run by the FAI, there should be details on the FAI website as to where and when these are on in an area near you, sometimes local clubs themselves run them. Even though the KS1 & 2 are just very basic, I found it very helpful anyway.

Best of luck with the team

Catenaccio!

Quazzie wrote: »

Before thinking of starting a team you have to ask yourself is there demand in your area for a team. You will need 16-18 players consistently for a team, and don't be fooled by how many you get down training. If you are in a strong GAA area, then you will find that a lot of players will turn up for training but will be nowhere to be found on the frosty Sunday mornings. They do this because they use the soccer training to keep fit during the winter for the GAA.

If you think there is a demand then do as Des says. contact local politicions, businesses, pubs etc. Anybody that you think will donate money. Then think about a field. if you live in a rural area this shouldn't be a problem and you mgiht be lucky enough to find a farmer that will rent you the field for nine months and he grows silage on it for the other three. We currently do that, and we find it drastically reduces our costs.

League fees, insurances (set to rise this year we've been told) are just some of the yearly fees that you'll need, along with initial investment for jerseys, matchballs, training equipment etc.

As for you being a manager, I personally believe that player managers don't work. A manager on the sideline with a competent trustworthy captain is much more effective.

Best of luck anyway and keep us informed of your progress.

Yeah I'm going to have to hit that research pretty soon. I don't live in the area any more but from what I gather there's been an increase in the population and I believe that there's a number of people from Dublin etc that are not involved in the GAA setup. But that's not to say they'll be wanting to play soccer - like I said, research will need to be carried out.

So how do I combat the whole 'turning up for training, not for matches' thing? The old manager couldn't handle it no matter what he said to the players concerned. Ideally I'd like to go with a policy which basically excluded such people from training but that's easier said than done. I'm seeing the possible benefits of the 100 euro joining fee now Des Is it pretty common throughout the amateur football scene, i.e. GAA players coming and going?

I'm not even sure if I want to play. I'm still in my 20s so it's not beyond me, but setting up the club is priority right now. I can see some people having issues with it if it did happen though.

I think sponsorship should be okay - there's a number of businesses in the area and more so than when the club was formed last time round.

Reganio 2

Catenaccio! wrote: »

Yeah I'm going to have to hit that research pretty soon. I don't live in the area any more but from what I gather there's been an increase in the population and I believe that there's a number of people from Dublin etc that are not involved in the GAA setup. But that's not to say they'll be wanting to play soccer - like I said, research will need to be carried out.

So how do I combat the whole 'turning up for training, not for matches' thing? The old manager couldn't handle it no matter what he said to the players concerned. Ideally I'd like to go with a policy which basically excluded such people from training but that's easier said than done. I'm seeing the possible benefits of the 100 euro joining fee now Des Is it pretty common throughout the amateur football scene, i.e. GAA players coming and going?

I'm not even sure if I want to play. I'm still in my 20s so it's not beyond me, but setting up the club is priority right now. I can see some people having issues with it if it did happen though.

I think sponsorship should be okay - there's a number of businesses in the area and more so than when the club was formed last time round.

Yeah very, don't know a club that dosn't do it tbh.

Don't be complacent about the business, remember we are in a recession so people are going to be hesitant to throw money at something with no track record and to a guy with no record, just warning you not to leave it on the back foot.

As for the training thing the best thing you can do is "No Training, No Starting" but then if your best player dosn't show up you have to stand by it so its a doube edged sword but every team suffers from the training thing so it won't be just you.

Spiritoftheseventies

All of what has been said above. If you are serious about it, get enough for two teams as one team is normally very hard to maintain. If one guy pulls out you are in trouble.
Also find out which day of week suits team to play.Some teams play Saturday and Sunday.
Getting a jersey sponsor should be one of your earlier priorities, pub would be a good starting point.
You need both a home and an away gear.

Catenaccio!

Contacted someone about the old pitch and it's still the same guy that owns the field so I'd need to rent it off him - or look elsewhere.

Who should I contact with regards to entering a league?

bobbysands81

I look after a soccer team and with about 20+ players wanting to play we often struggle to put out a starting XI.

Catenaccio!

Have you considered setting up a 2nd team or is it too costly?

Quazzie

bobbysands81 wrote: »

I look after a soccer team and with about 20+ players wanting to play we often struggle to put out a starting XI.

At many of our training sessions this year we had 2 games of 8 a side going, so that means we had 32 for training. As soon as the GAA started that dwindled down to a core of 18 lads which was perfect because nearly every weekend there were two away or couldn't make it. It meant every Sunday we had a group of 16-18 lads that were dedicated to the club and we knew we could rely on. And when next season starts they'll be the lads that'll be welcome back training, with maybe one or two new faces to keep things fresh.

For your question Catenaccio, there are only two leagues I'm familiar with in the Leinster area. The Kildare and District League and the CCFL(offaly/westmeath/laois). You can contact either of them and they are most obliging and helpful to new clubs starting off. There are probably more closer to your area (all I know is Leinster) but they're the ones I've had experience with.

Catenaccio!

Am trying to get in touch in Karl Bond so I'll wait and see what he says, thanks for that.

dyl10

Lots of good advice there.

As mentioned earlier, player insurance is generally a choice among the players i.e. they decide and if they want it, you/committee try to find them a bulk deal.
My experience is that it's very difficult to get the players insurance to pay out, so it's probably not worth it for a cheap deal.

As for private pitches, one in South Dublin would probably cost you in the region of €500-600 per year.
Start small I think is the best way to go, generally. Get your people together, will they be willing to train? (plenty of teams don't). In any case anything more than the starting 11 is a good turn out for the type of team you're proposing.

I have seen teams run in a pretty casual fashion, playing in the united churches league. They had roughly 14 people (friends and friends of friends). 3 of the lads ran a small electrician business and they sponsored the team. When new balls etc. were needed, the manager would just talk to all the players and they would collect the cash.

A very possible sponsor for the type of venture you're proposing is going to the local pub. Players generally want to drink somewhere after a game and clubs often base themselves out of pubs. Pub owners like this, go talk to the man in the local.

On the other hand, if you want to setup a serious club or build a serious club, maybe go to one of the unattached schoolboy teams. They might want somewhere for their U-18s to move on to.

Lots of different roots to take with this. I think the most important thing is, get people on board and involved. You need club men and committed players!