10 ways to avoid financial wastage in your amateur football club

As a club board or even a club Sporting Director, maximising the financial resources available to your club, particularly in amateur sports, is essential to ensure the long term sustainability of the organisation.

Yet unfortunately while clubs are busy fulfilling a wide range of responsibilities for their members, such as running programs, competitions and other sports-related activities, it is common for prudent financial management to fall behind on the to-do list.

As a result, many clubs continue to rely on grant funding and very few have an exact understanding of their operating costs year on year. Often this means that budgets are not set, expenditure tracking doesn’t occur and a monthly/yearly financial review seldom takes place. With the cost of goods and services continuing to rise for everyone, there has never been a more necessary time to take financial control of your organisation.

Many clubs simply focus on how to increase revenue and while this is important (see my ‘10 tips for Club Revenue Generation in Amateur Football’), there is also a case for decreasing expenditure, ensuring that the club is operating within its financial means and avoiding unnecessary financial wastage.

If done well, prudent financial management can lead to increased business opportunities, the ability to employ more staff and even enable much-needed upgrades to club infrastructure.

So do you want to be a club that just survives? Or one that financially thrives?

If the latter is true, here’s my list of ‘10 ways to avoid financial wastage in your amateur football club’.

Note: These are in no particular order of impact or importance and should all be addressed in relation to each other.

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1. Determine your exact financial position. This is an essential first step to ensure that you understand the financial health of your organisation. This can be as simple as ensuring accurate tracking of any expenditure spent across all items within the club. It should be updated on a regular basis by committee members and include all income and expenditure, down to the last cent. As a starting point, I’ve linked a sample club expenditure tracker from Sport England below: https://www.sportenglandclubmatters.com/financial-management/financial-position-forecasting/budgeting/

2. Regularly monitor and audit club expenses and determine your monthly fixed costs vs. monthly variable costs. This is important for amateur football clubs to maintain financial stability and ensure that they are operating within their means. By understanding the fixed and variable costs, clubs can make informed decisions about budgeting and resource allocation. I recommend basing your forecast on the worst-case scenario to ensure that your club can still thrive regardless of grant funding or unforeseen circumstances. Regular monitoring and auditing can help identify areas where costs can be reduced, preventing financial difficulties and ensuring long-term sustainability. See the sample club budget by Sport New Zealand for reference: https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/financial-management-for-clubs/

3. Football clubs should aim to clear any accounts payable and/or high interest debt to improve their financial health and avoid negative consequences such as interest charges, penalties and credit rating downgrades. Paying off debt also frees up cash flow, allowing clubs to invest in other areas and improve their overall financial performance. This should be a regular item on the club committee meeting agenda and is a recommended action in many club development guidelines such as New Zealand Football’s Quality Club Mark.

4. Determine high priority areas for funding. This is important for amateur football clubs to ensure that resources are allocated efficiently and effectively. Focusing funding allocation on critical areas such as player development, infrastructure maintenance and equipment can save money in the long term by preventing costly repairs or replacements and improving overall club performance. There are many external funding partners available that have various application windows and primary areas of focus, listed on this link.

5. Effectively manage volunteers. Many amateur football clubs rely on an army of volunteers to run their operations. Volunteer management is critical to ensure that volunteers are motivated, committed and trained on an ongoing basis. Effective volunteer management can reduce costs associated with hiring paid staff, allowing more resources to be allocated to other areas of the club. It would be advisable to have a volunteer coordinator, or utilise services such as Volunteer NZ who may be able to help you establish a volunteer recruitment and retention plan. If you do have the desire to have multiple paid staff, such as a Director of Football or regular coaches, determine an appropriate staffing structure including contract types (ie. salary, contractor etc) to help protect the investment required by your organisation.

6. Manage assets effectively. Amateur football clubs may own or lease equipment (goalposts, balls, training gear etc) which is often acquired through fundraising or successful grant funding applications. Responsible asset management includes establishing effective maintenance and replacement schedules. This can help reduce costs associated with equipment failure or the need to purchase new equipment, freeing up the ability to spend money elsewhere. Any club damages incurred by users may result in repair fees or there may be upgrades needed from wear and tear if facilities are not kept to a high and clean standard. Maintaining a current schedule of equipment status will not only avoid any surprises when costs do arise but it will also provide a proactive framework to help avoid them altogether.

Link to Facility Asset Management Manual: https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/facility-management-manual/

7. Create a facility sustainability plan. The cost of renting or maintaining facilities such as pitches, clubrooms and changing rooms can be a significant expense for amateur football clubs. Effective facility management can help clubs reduce costs by negotiating better rental agreements, reducing energy consumption and maintaining facilities to a high standard. Particularly in areas such as reducing energy consumption, there are an increasing number of initiatives that can help to reduce costs, reduce carbon footprint and make a positive contribution to the environment.

https://www.loveenergysavings.com/content-hub/how-it-works/how-football-is-driving-energy-efficiency-and-sustainability-targets/

8. Adhere to the league and national club regulations. Complying with football league regulations such as key payment dates or player reimbursement allowances can help ensure that a club avoids penalty fees, prevents overspending, encourages good financial management and attracts external investment. Regulations will be publicly available on most league administration websites, including in youth academies which can be viewed here (examples only):

NZF Regulations: https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/about/Important-Information/Statutes-Regulations-2

United Soccer League Academy: https://www.usl-academy.com/standards

9. Negotiate any subscriptions or contracts that your club holds. Contract negotiation allows football clubs to save costs, customise services, remain flexible, maintain quality control and protect themselves legally. This can help ensure that the club receives the best possible value for the goods and services that it requires, leading to improved financial performance and sustainability. Examples include infrastructure support such as internet and insurance, or sporting subscriptions such as Veo, HUDL etc.

10. Apply for all available grant funding opportunities and ensure that every last cent is spent. Amateur football clubs should apply for all available grant funding opportunities as they can provide essential financial support for operations, infrastructure and sports development programs. Applying for grants can also help the club build relationships with funding organizations and promote the club’s reputation within the community. I recognise that these often entail an extensive application process, however, support is available via dedicated personnel at organisations such as the Regional Sports Trusts and resources such as the Sport NZ Sports Funding Register. (Equivalent in other countries will be available).

To summarise, if I can leave you with a few key takeaways they are to live within your club's means and forecast your operations based on the worst case scenario. Amateur football clubs must avoid overspending which can lead to financial instability, and compromise the club’s ability to provide member resources and maintain essential operations.

A sustainable financial strategy that aims to minimise all financial wastage will help amateur clubs to ensure that the appropriate resources are available in all the right places. Club boards and committees can successfully serve their communities, promote the development of young players and advance their senior teams.

All of the above will need careful consideration by club boards, committees and operational teams and should be reviewed in conjunction with your club's Football Strategy and overall Club Development Plan.

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