Terms & conditions

1. Joining a league

• Registering a team commits it to the whole season. How many games and weeks a season has is shown on your league's page and when you register.
• The captain registers the team on our league hub, pays the deposit and saves a card for match fees. The captain is responsible for the team’s payments and its squad.
• There's no limit on squad size. Only add players who have agreed to join. Each player is invited to set up their player card.
• A league manager confirms each new team’s place.
• If a league is full, you can join the waiting list. We save your card but charge nothing unless we offer you a place and you accept it.

2. Fees and payments

• Match fee: each team pays a match fee for every game. Your league's fee is shown on its page and when you register, and fees can differ between leagues and venues. If we change a league's fee, the new fee applies from the next season, never part-way through a season you've already registered for.
• Deposit: when you register, you pay a deposit worth a set number of match fees, shown when you register. It pays for that number of games at the end of your season, so there's nothing more to pay for those weeks. If you stay on for the next season, it carries over instead (see section 6).
• Paying by card: by registering, you authorise us to charge your saved card with the match fee 48 hours before each game (except the games your deposit covers), and with any forfeit charges under these terms. You can update the card at any time from My 5aside.
• Failed payments: if a payment fails, we tell the captain and try again 24 hours later. Any fees owed must be paid before your next game.
• Company teams can ask to pay by invoice, which must be paid by its due date.

Full details are on our deposits and forfeits page.

3. Playing your games

• We set the fixtures and kick-off times, and spread the kick-off times fairly across the season. All fixtures are to be played.
• Postponements aren’t allowed except in exceptional circumstances, at our discretion. With at least 2 weeks’ notice you can ask to move a game, which is usually only possible early in the season.
• Short on players? You can bring ringers. Their goals count for your team but aren’t added to anyone’s stats.
• Results count as soon as the ref confirms them. Our league managers can correct mistakes, and every change is logged.
• On the night, the ref’s decisions are final.

4. If your team can’t play

Our aim is always to get a game played. If a stand-in team plays, everyone pays their normal fee. If no game is played, the team that pulled out pays more:

• 48 hours’ notice or more: your team pays its own match fee only.
• Less than 48 hours’ notice, or not turning up: your team pays both match fees, unless we find a stand-in team to play instead, in which case you pay only your own.
• Either way, the other team wins 10-0. If they don’t get a game, they pay nothing for that night. If a stand-in team plays, they pay as normal and their players’ stats count.

Repeated forfeits may lead to removal from the league (see section 7).

5. Games we call off

Only 5aside.com can call off a game, for example if the pitch is unplayable or the venue isn’t available. If we call off a game, nobody pays for it, any fee already taken is refunded, and we rearrange the game.

6. Leaving, and the next season

• Your team commits to the whole season. If it leaves early, we stop taking match fees, but we keep the deposit to cover the games left empty. The only exception is if a replacement team we approve takes your place, in which case we refund your deposit in full.
• We ask captains halfway through the season, and again at 75%, whether they’ll play the next season. Saying yes holds your place. Your deposit then carries over to the next season, so there's nothing more to pay, and this season's last games are charged as normal instead. If the next season's match fee is higher, we take the difference when those games come round. A team's first season always starts with a deposit.
• Nobody is signed up or charged for a new season without saying yes.

7. Conduct and removal

We expect competitive but friendly football. We may remove a player or team from a league or event for good reason, including violence, abusive or discriminatory behaviour, serious or repeated foul play, repeated forfeits or not paying. If we remove a team, we refund any fees paid for games it won’t play, less anything it owes under these terms.

8. Stats, player cards and photos

• Our refs record goals, assists, Player of the Match, sin bins and results. These build each player’s card, rating, football career, season awards and Hall of Fame entries on our league hub.
• Players appear by first name and surname initial only. Player cards are public by default, and each player can switch theirs off from My 5aside.
• Photos appear only if a player adds one and agrees it can be shown.
• Ratings come from match stats only. We don’t change individual ratings on request, but tell us if a stat is wrong and we’ll check it.
• How we use personal data is explained in our privacy policy.

9. Safety and liability

Football is a contact sport, and teams and players take part at their own risk. We aren’t liable for injury or loss except where it’s caused by our negligence or breach of these terms. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence. We recommend players arrange their own sports injury or personal accident insurance.

10. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change affects a season you’ve already registered for, we’ll tell captains before it applies. Questions? Call 020 8058 2545 or email info@5aside.com.