Guides › Friendlies and ringers

How to find a 5-a-side friendly or a ringer

If you're a player short, ask your own squad's friends first, then local football groups, then a pick-up app. If you want a whole game, post when your team's free and with or without a pitch, so another team can say yes in one message.

When you're a player short

A ringer is someone from outside the squad who fills in for one game. Most teams need one a few times a season. In order of what works best:

Ask the squad to ask a mate. Someone always knows someone. A friend of a friend turns up and is more likely to come back.
Keep a ringer list. Note the name and number of everyone who's ever filled in. Next time, message them first.
Ask the team you're playing. In a friendly, the other team might lend you a sub for the night.
Post in local groups. Town Facebook groups, Nextdoor and WhatsApp communities. Say the time, venue, level and cost.
Ask at the venue. Staff often know players looking for a game.

Tell the ringer the cost before they come, and get them to pay their share like everyone else. See how to collect money for 5-a-side.

When you want a whole game

A friendly against another team is good practice before joining a league, and a change from playing the same faces every week.

Say when you're free, and whether you have a pitch. "Free Tuesdays from 8, pitch booked at the leisure centre" gets more replies than "anyone fancy a game?"
Say your level honestly. Nobody enjoys a 15–2.
Agree the cost up front. Usually the pitch is split between the two teams.
Agree the rules. Head height, rush goalie or a fixed keeper, kick-ins. See 5-a-side rules.
Swap numbers with the other captain. Teams that get on play again.

Where to look

Local Facebook groups and community chats, other teams at your venue, work and university sports clubs, and the venue's own leagues and noticeboards. Pick-up apps work for individual players who want a game; they're less good for finding a whole team to play.

How Rush Goalie helps

In the Rush Goalie app, your team posts when it's free, with or without a pitch, and teams nearby offer to play. Filter by day, distance and level, and teams with a pitch booked come first. Accept one and it's in both teams' diaries, with payments and scores sorted like any other game. Players looking for a game can find a team that's short and step in as a ringer, paying their share in the app like everyone else.