Your Child's First Football Season: A Parent's Guide (PDF Guide)

A calm, plain-English UK guide for parents of children aged about 5 to 11: how clubs, leagues and age groups work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, what it costs, and what to ask before you sign up. With a printable checklist and costs worksheet.

Your child has come home asking to join a football team. What happens now? This guide explains, in plain English, how children's grassroots football usually works across the UK, so that you walk into your first training session or match knowing what is normal.

It is a practical guide for parents. It is not a coaching manual and it is not medical advice. It describes how things are usually organised, what the national football associations publish for the 2026/27 season, and where the four nations differ.

Inside you will find:

• How children's football is organised, including age groups, small-sided formats (3v3, 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9) and the differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• What happens at each age, from the youngest "play" sessions to Under 11, including playing time, results, tables and trophies.
• Finding a club: taster sessions and trials, and the questions to ask.
• Kit and costs: what your child really needs, indicative cost ranges, and what to do if money is tight.
• Match days and the touchline: who is in charge, what the FA's Grassroots Code asks of parents, and what to say (and not say) on the way home.
• Sub time, nerves and losing, including what to do if your child is not getting enough game time.
• Safeguarding basics: what to ask a club, and who to contact if you are worried.
• Heading, knocks and concussion: the heading rules by nation, and general information on recognising concussion (not medical advice).
• Girls' football and pathways, and what to do when a child wants to quit.
• Four printable A4 pages: a parent checklist (with a kit bag list), a first-season costs worksheet, a "questions to ask a club" page with room for answers, and season notes with after-match chat prompts.
• A glossary, a clear list of sources, and pointers to other Long Room Learning guides.

What you get: one 32-page A4 PDF. Print the worksheets as often as you like for your own use. Facts checked against published guidance on 28 October 2026, with sources listed.

Please note: This guide is general information only. It is not medical advice, coaching advice or legal advice. Rules, formats and costs vary by club, league and nation, and change from season to season, so always check with your own club, league and national association. In an emergency, call 999. For advice about a head injury, call NHS 111 or see a doctor.

Long Room Learning is independent. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the FA, the Scottish FA, the Football Association of Wales, the Irish FA, or any club or league.