Frequently Asked Questions

For the cost to join our club for season 2024/25 please check out the pricing tables under the tab “Teams”.  You can of course reserve a space for your child ready for the next season, to do this you will be asked to pay a £100 non-refundable deposit which shall be used in payment towards next season with Apsley Football Club.

Initially you will be asked to pay a £100 non-refundable deposit between June-July 2024 to secure your child’s place at the club, the remainder to be paid over 3 months, August, September and October or you can pay in full.

Please click on the tab “Coaching Opportunities”.

The answer to some degree is yes, your child will sit on the bench and maybe occasionally be asked to miss a game.  However, please understand that we shall aim to keep team player numbers to the lowest possible needed.  It is hard to field a team, let’s say we are Under 14s at 11 a-side.  We will need 11 players on the pitch plus between 4-5 subs – roll on and roll off (depending on the league or cup game).  Players do get injured, go on holiday, have other commitments like school matches and lessons amongst other valuable excuses.  Because of this we would probably need 20 players in that squad and trust us, later in the season we would have wished we had taken on 22-23 players.  Then there are goal keepers, do we take just 1 or 2, which one do we play and when?  Generally, it is much harder as the children become older to have your No.2 keeper sat on the bench taking up the space of an outfield player that will definitely be used.  There are lots of things to consider when managing a football team.

If it is deemed that your child can join the youth squad but is not yet ready to be in the team/line-up then your child is welcome and encouraged to continue training with that specific team.  Your child may also be encouraged and invited to join in with some of our additional development training.

Again, a very difficult question but one we will not avoid!  Let’s take the Under 7s to Under 12s – most of these matches are 5-a-side (U7-8s), 7v7 (U9-U10s) and 9v9 (U11s-U12s) with 15mins to 25 minute halves.  These squads would be made up of teams of between 8-15/16 in size.  Many of the younger matches, U7s-U11s, it would be a parent or coach that is asked to referee on behalf of both teams and these teams often do not have competition as such nor league placings.  Once we hit Under 12s we tend to have an organised FA Referee in most cases, with a parent from each team or coach running the line.

Coming back to the question, how much game time will my child get?  Your child will play a roll on / roll off approach attempting to give all players equal time on the pitch (Under 7s to Under 11s).  Other age groups (U12s+) will take a slightly different approach as the game takes a more serious approach to gaining + results (points) as we enter competition football leagues.  Many clubs have different teams under the same age group of differing levels.

This is where development and competition collides!

You can expect most clubs with children (U12s+) competing in leagues to play their players who hold the best footballing abilities (from the coaches view), it is important that when this line is taken that all parents and children understand this from the start of the season.  From this age onwards children will find their positions that best suit them with their coach and play to their and to their team’s strengths.

Of course everyone wants to be part of a winning team!

We know that if our teams, especially the older youth teams perform well, score goals, win games and are at the top end of the league we shall automatically invite player invitations to fill spaces for the future!

With this in mind, we do here at Apsley Football Club take the approach from “Under 13s plus” we shall take on the best players for our teams to ensure our teams perform well, we shall field our best team on the day.  This is why player numbers for these age groups (U14s to U16s) shall be kept to a minimum number of players needed therefore ensuring those in the team receive as much playing time as possible.  If we believe your child is injured or ill they shall not be allowed to play until they are match-fit.

No we can not!  Of course your child can leave one of our teams to join another but you may have a 1-2 week wait for the leagues to agree with the clubs involved of the moments and registration of the player.

As a general rule we do not and can not offer refunds if your child decides to leave Apsley Football Club.  If you have paid your holding deposit only then please just let us know you are leaving.

Home and Away kit shall be given to your child only once a holding deposit of £100 has been taken plus your first months payment.  If your child leaves the club after this time, they are welcome to keep their kit.

The Manager/Coach of your chosen team will choose shirt numbers for the children.  The FA have become much stricter in youth football recently not allowing numbers higher than the amount of players on the team.

Under 7s to Under 11s – Play and Train at TBC.

Under 12s to Under 14s – Train at TBC.

Under 15s – Train (during good weather) and Play at Leverstock Green FC.