Guides › Collecting money

How to collect money for 5-a-side

The fairest way to pay for 5-a-side is for everyone who says they're in to pay their share before kick-off, by the same method every week. The captain books the pitch, so the captain shouldn't be the one out of pocket.

Why it goes wrong

Most captains pay the venue on their own card, post "£6 each please" in the group chat and then spend the week chasing. It goes wrong in the same three ways for every team:

Late payers. Someone always "sorts it at the weekend". By the next game nobody can remember who paid for which week.
No-shows. A player drops out on the day and the rest of the team covers their share, or the captain does.
Ringers. The mate of a mate who filled in pays cash, or doesn't, and never plays again.

Agree the rules once

Put these in the group chat at the start of the season and pin them. Nobody can argue with a rule they agreed to.

Say you're in by a set time. For example, Tuesday 6pm for a Thursday game.
If you're in, you pay. Drop out after the cut-off and you still owe your share, unless you find someone to take your place.
Pay before kick-off. Not after, not at the weekend.
Ringers pay the same as everyone else. Whoever brings them makes sure they do.
Spare money goes in the kitty. If eleven people pay for ten places, it covers next week's gap rather than going back in pennies.

The ways to collect it

Method	Good	Bad
Cash on the night	Simple, no fees	Nobody carries cash. Hard to track. Easy to forget for a no-show.
Bank transfer to the captain	Free, quick with a banking app	The captain matches payments to names by hand and still chases.
A season up front	One payment, done	Hard to ask for £60 or more in one go. Unfair on anyone who gets injured or leaves.
A kitty or pot	Covers odd weeks and no-shows	Someone has to top it up and keep the sums.
A team app	Each player pays their own share, the captain sees who's paid	Usually a small fee per payment. On Rush Goalie it's 49p a share.

Work out the share

Divide the pitch cost by the number of players who said they're in, and round up to the next 50p so the kitty never runs short. If a 5-a-side pitch costs £60 and twelve of you are in, that's £5 each. If only ten turn up for a £60 pitch, it's £6.

In a league, the pitch fee is often per team per game, so split your team's part, not the whole pitch.

Our free 5-a-side cost calculator does the sum for you, to the penny.

What to do when someone won't pay

Ask once, in private, not in the group chat. Most people have simply forgotten. If it keeps happening, they don't get a place until they've cleared it. Keep it about the money, not the person: "You're on £12 from the last two weeks, can you sort it before Thursday?"

How Rush Goalie does it

In the Rush Goalie app, each player taps "I'm in" and sees their share of the pitch straight away. They pay it with Apple Pay or Google Pay and the captain gets paid back, with a 49p fee on top of each share (£1.49 for a ringer), shown before anyone pays. The captain sees who's in, who's paid and who still owes, so there's nothing to chase. It works at any venue, from the local leisure centre to the big chains.

More: 5-a-side team names