Not a watch party: we’re talking about playing a pickup soccer game with your friends. The game lasts an hour. Organizing it can take three nights of texts. Here’s a 7-step method that works, whether you do it all by hand or use an app to organize your soccer games.
The short version
- A fixed time slot, a booked field, an exact number of spots.
- A waitlist for dropouts, because there will be some.
- Teams picked before you get to the field.
| Format | On the field | Players to invite | Usual length | Field (1 hr / 90 min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5v5 (small-sided) | 10 | 10 to 12 | 1 hr or 90 min | about $75 to $150 / $112.50 to $225 at an indoor facility |
| 7v7 | 14 | 14 to 16 | 1 hr to 90 min | indoor 7v7 field or a park field permit |
| 9v9 | 18 | 18 to 20 | 90 min | park field permit |
| 11v11 | 22 | 24 to 26 | 90 min to 2 hrs | park field permit |
At every step, you’ll find the do-it-yourself version and the version with Footinho, a free, ad-free app for organizing soccer games with friends, on iPhone, Android or in a browser, run by a nonprofit association. You don’t need the app to follow this guide.
1. Pick a format and set the number of spots
With friends, coworkers or your Tuesday night crew, the most common format is 5v5: 10 players, or 12 with one sub per team. Next come 7v7 and, if your group is big, 9v9 or 11v11.
Set an exact number of spots, not “around 12”. And be realistic: the bigger you go, the harder it is to fill. If you’re just starting out, go 5v5, indoors or on a turf field.
➜ Format by format: How Many Players on a Soccer Team? 5v5, 7v7, 9v9, 11v11
2. Pick a time slot and stick with it
Weeknights around 7 or 8pm is the slot everyone wants: easy for players, but also the most expensive and the first one taken. As for length, one hour is plenty for 5v5 with ten players; lots of groups book 90 minutes so people can catch their breath and the subs can rotate.
Above all, keep the same slot every week. “Tuesday 8pm” turns into a habit, and people block the evening without you having to ask again.
With Footinho: when you create the next game, it’s pre-filled with the same day and time. All you do is confirm.
3. Book the field before you open sign-ups
Book the field first, invite second. The other way around, you end up with 10 players for a slot that no longer exists.
Pick a field that’s close for most of the group, with easy parking or transit: a field 40 minutes away means guaranteed dropouts. Going by the rates indoor facilities publish, expect about $75 to $150 for an hour on a 5v5 field depending on the city and the time, and $112.50 to $225 for 90 minutes. Park fields cost much less with a permit from your parks department (NYC Parks charges adults $41 an hour for a full synthetic field, plus $15 an hour for lights), but leagues often get the good slots. Open park fields are free, but you can’t reserve them.
With Footinho: the app doesn’t book fields; you do that with the facility or the parks department. Then you add the field to the game page, so everyone knows where to go.
➜ Prices by city, off-peak hours and deals: Soccer Field Rental: Prices for 1 Hour and 90 Minutes
4. Invite 3 to 7 days ahead and get a clear answer from everyone
Any earlier, people don’t know their plans yet. Any later, they’ve already made other ones.
For 10 spots, you need a group of 12 to 14 players: some regulars and a few occasional ones. Ask everyone for a clear answer: in / out / maybe. Treat a “maybe” as a no until it turns into a yes. And set a deadline.
An invite you can copy:
⚽ Soccer Tuesday 8-9:30pm at Eastside Indoor. 10 spots, $12 each. Reply by Thursday noon: in / out. After 10, you go on the waitlist.
Without an app: a poll or an event in your group chat (WhatsApp, GroupMe, iMessage), with the answer options and the deadline written in the message.
With Footinho: you share the invite to your WhatsApp group in two taps (or paste the link into a text, GroupMe, an email…). Everyone taps the link and answers in one tap, and the “8/10” counter is visible to all. Players you invite in the app get the invite by email and notification, then one automatic reminder if they haven’t answered: two nudges, without you writing a single message.
➜ The full method: Pickup Soccer RSVPs: 5 Rules to Know Who’s Coming
5. Plan for dropouts and missing players
They’ll happen, often the day before or the day of. Three ways to handle them:
- A waitlist. Once the game is full, the next people wait. If someone drops out, the first person on the list takes their spot.
- A simple rule, announced from the start. For example: “drop out the day before and you pay your share or find a replacement.”
- A plan B if you’re short. Ask confirmed players to bring a friend, open the game to other players nearby, or go smaller (from 7v7 to 5v5).
Without an app: write the waitlist under the player list, in the order people replied. When someone drops out, text the first person on the list yourself.
With Footinho: turn on the waitlist for the game. When a spot opens up, the first person on the list moves into the game and gets notified. If the game isn’t full the day before, you’re the one who gets an alert, and you can make it a public match so players nearby can join. Each player’s profile also shows their reliability: their response rate, and how many times they’ve been reported as a no-show, leaving at the last minute or showing up late.
6. Pick teams before you get there
Ten minutes of “no way, your team’s stacked” on the sideline is ten minutes less soccer. Make balanced teams the day before:
- Split the players into three skill groups (strong, average, beginners).
- Deal each group out in turn: one to team A, one to team B.
- Break up the inseparable duos, especially if they play well together.
- Put a goalkeeper, or at least someone willing to start in goal, on each team.
No time? Name two captains who pick in turn, or draw names by skill group. If one team is up 5-0 after ten minutes, swap two players.
A few house rules to agree on before kickoff: rotating keeper (switch after every goal conceded, or every 10 minutes), subs coming on every 7 to 10 minutes, no slide tackles, and play fair. With 11 or 13 players, play “next goal wins”: the team that concedes goes off and the subs come on.
Without an app: put the teams in the day-before recap (step 7).
With Footinho: you set the lineups in the game’s tab, and every player sees them before leaving home.
7. Send a recap the day before
One message, the day before: where, what time, the teams, who brings what, how much everyone owes. For the money, collect before the game with a Venmo, Zelle or PayPal request: much easier than chasing people in the parking lot afterward.
Gear not to forget:
- a ball (often provided at indoor facilities, check) and a pump;
- two sets of pinnies in different colors;
- shoes for the surface (turf or indoor) and shin guards;
- gloves for the keeper, and water.
A recap you can copy:
Tomorrow 8pm at Eastside Indoor, field 3. Team A: Marcus, Leo, Sam, Diego, Max. Team B: Jay, Tom, Nico, Chris, Alex. Leo brings the ball, Tom the pinnies. $12 each, Venmo request below.
With Footinho: confirmed players get a reminder 4 hours before the game. The recap is still useful for gear and money: the app doesn’t handle payments.
What about after the game?
This is where a group sticks together or falls apart. Food or drinks after the game (losing team buys is a classic), a message the next day with the score and the best moments, and above all: announce the next slot right away, while everyone’s still fired up.
With Footinho: players vote for the Man of the match, and next week’s game takes seconds to create, pre-filled with the same day and time.
Try Footinho for your next game
Footinho is free, ad-free and run by a nonprofit association. It doesn’t book the field or handle money, but it takes care of answers, reminders, the waitlist, lineups and the Man of the match vote. Create your game →
