How to organise a weekly kickabout that doesn’t die
Every weekly kickabout dies the same way. Week one: 14 names on the list. Week three: “can’t make this one, lads”. Week six: two blokes staring at their phones outside the sports hall. It’s not bad luck. It’s the lack of a system.
The groups who’ve been playing every Thursday for ten years don’t have better mates than you. They have routines: a fixed day, a call-up at the same time every week, a reserve list and zero tolerance for the one who never pays. This guide is that system, step by step. It works just the same in Jerez as it does in Bilbao.
Set the day and time in stone
Mistake number one is voting every week on when to play. A weekly poll about day and time is an open invitation not to play. The kickabout that survives is the one nobody debates: Thursday at 21:00, full stop. Whoever can make it, comes. Whoever can’t — see you next week.
Which day to pick? Midweek holds up better than the weekend, because weekends compete with trips away, family lunches and hangovers. Thursday and Friday nights are the classics; Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to have cheaper, emptier pitches. And in summer, the later the better: in August in Chiclana or El Puerto, nobody wants to be running at 19:00.
Pick a fixed format too: five-a-side (5v5) or 7-a-side. Five-a-side only needs 10 people and is far more forgiving of drop-outs. 7-a-side is the better spectacle but needs 14 — and getting 14 together every week is a sport in itself.
The call-up: the weekly ritual
The call-up is the heart of the kickabout. It has to go out on the same day at the same time, every time: say, Monday at 10:00 for a Thursday game. That way people come to expect it, like the next episode of a series.
The format that works is the numbered list: you send the message with “1.”, “2.”, “3.” left blank, and everyone copies the whole message, adds their name and re-sends it. The first ten play; from eleven onwards, reserves in order. It’s transparent, it’s quick, and it kills off the “I thought I was in” conversation for good.
Close the list 24 hours before kick-off, and say so in the message itself. Once the list is closed, anyone who drops out pays anyway (barring a genuine emergency — and we all know one when we see one). Sounds harsh. It’s what keeps the kickabout alive.
Last-minute drop-outs and the reserve list
There will be drop-outs. Always. The difference between a healthy group and a dead one is what happens after the drop-out.
A reserve list in sign-up order solves almost everything: someone pulls out, you message the first reserve, they confirm with a thumbs-up and job done. No favouritism, no drama. If your group has fewer than 18-20 people for 7-a-side, that’s the real problem: you need more people, not more luck. Ask every regular to bring along one trusted mate.
As for the one who signs up and then vanishes without a word: two strikes and it’s the back of the queue — in the next call-up he goes in last, even if he replies first. No need to kick anyone out. The queue does the teaching all by itself.
The money: collect before, not after
Golden rule: the money gets collected before the match, not after. After the match, people shower, head home and forget. Before the match, paying is the price of being on the list.
The classic system: one person fronts the pitch fee, splits it between everyone on the list and requests a Bizum (Spain’s instant bank-transfer app) as soon as the list closes, with a clear reference (“Thursday 12th”). Mind Bizum’s small print: the minimum you can send is €0.50 and the maximum €1,000 per transaction — plenty for any kickabout — and you can request money from up to 30 people at once, so a single request to the group does the job.
And the one who never pays? Don’t put him on trial in the group chat. Message him privately, once. If he does it again, make the rule public and the same for everyone: owe for a game and you’re not in the next call-up. Keeping the accounts written down (a pinned note, a spreadsheet, or the expense tracker in an app like Haypartido, which shows everyone exactly who’s paid and who hasn’t) avoids 90% of the arguments — because it’s no longer your word against his.
The pitch: what it costs and where to book
Ballpark prices in Spain: a municipal five-a-side court usually runs €10-25 an hour, and a floodlit artificial-grass 7-a-side pitch €40-60 an hour at private clubs, a bit less at municipal facilities. In pocket terms: a five-a-side court at €20 split between 10 is €2 a head; a 7-a-side at €56 split between 14, €4. Cheaper than a couple of beers.
Municipal sports centres (in the province of Cádiz, the IMD facilities in Cádiz city, Jerez, San Fernando or Chiclana) are the budget option, but they often require booking in person or by phone, with limited advance windows and office hours. Private clubs cost more, but you book online, the floodlights are decent, the grass is looked after and they’ll hold your weekly slot if you ask. For an every-week kickabout, always ask about a fixed rental: plenty of clubs will do you a deal, and that Thursday slot is yours forever.
Book with floodlights included, and get it confirmed. The classic “the lights are charged separately” has wrecked more budgets than any big-money signing ever did.
Balanced teams, or civil war
Nothing kills a kickabout faster than losing 12-1 three weeks running. You pick teams to keep the game alive, not so your side wins.
Methods that work: the two “captains” pick alternately, starting with whoever lost the week before; or the organiser splits the teams cold before anyone arrives, always separating the two or three best players. “Regulars versus newbies” is banned. And buy bibs: €15 at any sports shop, and that’s the end of “whose side are you on?”.
August, winter and other deaths foretold
Kickabouts don’t die in March. They die in August and at Christmas, when the streak breaks and nobody sends the call-up once everyone’s back. The fix is to say it out loud: “We stop on 4 August and we’re back on 5 September, Thursday, 21:00.” A concrete return date is a match waiting to happen; a “we’ll sort something in September” is a funeral.
In winter, defend your time slot and a pitch with floodlights, and lower the squad bar: if 8 of you turn up for five-a-side, you play 4v4. Playing short-handed one week is infinitely better than cancelling, because every cancellation teaches the group that cancelling is an option.
When the WhatsApp group isn’t enough
WhatsApp goes a long way: the call-up, the list, the memes. But there are three moments where it falls short: when you’re always the one fronting the money and chasing Bizums, when you’re 2 players short on a Wednesday night and you’ve run out of people to ring, and when the numbered list breaks because three people edited the message at once.
That’s what amateur football apps are for. With Haypartido, for example, you can set up your private kickabout for free with an invite link you share through WhatsApp itself, with expense splitting so nobody wriggles out of paying and an MVP vote at full time; and if one week you’re short of legs, there are open games on real pitches where everyone books and pays for their own spot, price broken down, no surprises. You don’t replace the WhatsApp group. You just take the dirty work off its hands.
Frequently asked questions
How many people do I need to keep a weekly kickabout going?
More than actually play. For five-a-side (10 players) you need a group of 15-18 people; for 7-a-side (14 players), between 20 and 25. Every week, 20-30% of those signed up will drop out, so the cushion isn’t optional: it is the system.
How much does it cost to hire a 7-a-side pitch in Spain?
At private clubs, between €40 and €60 an hour with floodlights included, depending on the city and time slot. Municipal facilities are usually cheaper, and a municipal five-a-side court can go for €10-25 an hour. Split between 10-14 players, the kickabout works out at €2-5 a head.
Is it better to collect the money before or after the match?
Before, always. Request the Bizum when the list closes, 24 hours before the match, with a clear reference. Collecting afterwards turns the organiser into a debt collector; collecting beforehand makes paying the entry requirement for playing.
What do I do about the one who signs up and then doesn’t turn up?
A public rule, applied to everyone: drop out after the list closes and you pay anyway, barring a genuine emergency. Anyone who vanishes without a word twice goes in last in the next call-up. No need to expel anyone; the queue corrects itself.
What day of the week is best for playing?
A weeknight, ideally Thursday. Weekends compete with trips away and family plans, and produce far more drop-outs. Tuesdays and Wednesdays have emptier and sometimes cheaper pitches. What matters isn’t finding the perfect day: it’s that it’s always the same one.
How do we pick balanced teams every week?
Either two captains pick alternately (whoever lost last time picks first), or the organiser splits the teams before arriving, separating the two or three best players. Change the teams every week and use bibs. If one team wins by a landslide three weeks running, they get remade — no debate.