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The New Season Checklist for Club Secretaries
It's 11pm on a Thursday. The league wants registrations by Friday, three parents still haven't sent sizes, and someone has just asked in the WhatsApp group whether training tops are happening this year. If you're the club secretary, you've probably had that night. This club secretary checklist is here so you don't have it again.
Club secretary duties never fit neatly into a job description. You're part administrator, part diplomat, part kit manager, and the first name anyone thinks of when something needs sorting. So we've pulled the whole new season into seven phases. Work through them in order, tick things off, and hand off everything you can.
Whether you run a Sunday league side, a netball club, a rugby section or a multi-sport community club, the jobs are broadly the same. Only the dates move.
Key takeaways
- Start 8 to 12 weeks before your first fixture. Most new season stress comes from jobs left to the final fortnight.
- Registrations, insurance and safeguarding come first. Nothing else matters if players can't take the field.
- Confirm sponsors before you order kit, so the right logos go on the right shirts.
- Stop handling kit money. An online club shop takes payments, sizes and deliveries off your plate.
- Write your comms plan once and reuse it every week.
What does a club secretary actually do?
The club secretary is the club's main administrator and its point of contact with the outside world. If you've just been voted in at the AGM, here's what the role usually covers:
- Affiliation and registrations: renewing with your league and governing body, and registering players.
- Meetings and the AGM: booking the date, circulating the agenda and keeping the minutes.
- Main point of contact: for the league, other clubs, venues and match officials.
- Fixtures and bookings: confirming pitches, courts and kick-off times.
- Member records: keeping them up to date and stored in line with UK GDPR.
- Club communications: sending news to players, parents and volunteers.
In smaller clubs, the secretary often picks up kit, sponsorship and fundraising too. That's too much for one volunteer. So every phase below ends with one job you can hand to someone else, or to a system.
What we see every pre-season
We work with grassroots clubs, schools and charities across more than 12 sports, and the same pattern turns up every year. 21% of our kit orders land in the weeks just before the season starts. Clubs that order in that window are competing with everyone else for the same production slots.
"Dean brown has been amazing throughout the whole process second time I have used my club group and dean has made it so easy for me, even when I was waiting for funding as it is a charoty kit dean dit not hassle me and just supported me throughout the process and would 100% use again as the service and quality of kit is brilliant." - Jake Wallis
None of this is about working harder. It's about doing the right jobs in the right order.
Phase 1: Wrap up last season (10 to 12 weeks out)
- Hold your AGM, or book the date. Confirm committee roles, agree subs for the year and vote on any rule changes.
- Update your contacts list. Who's leaving, who's stepping up, and who's the new manager for the under 12s?
- Audit last season's kit. Count what came back, note what's damaged and list missing sizes. This is the starting point for your kit order.
- Review what worked. A 15-minute chat with coaches about last season's biggest admin headaches will save you hours this time round.
Hand this off: The kit audit. Give a coach or parent the kit bag and a list to count against.
Phase 2: Registrations, insurance and safeguarding (8 to 10 weeks out)
This is the non-negotiable block. Get it done early and everything else gets easier.
- Renew affiliation with your county association or national governing body. Deadlines vary by sport and region, so check your league handbook.
- Open player registrations. Most governing bodies now register players online (football clubs use the FA's Whole Game System, for example). Send the link with a clear deadline.
- Collect membership forms and consents, including emergency contacts, medical information and photo consent for junior players.
- Check your insurance covers public liability and personal accident for the coming season.
- Confirm your welfare officer and check DBS checks are in date for coaches and volunteers working with juniors.
- Restock the first aid kit and confirm who's first aid trained at each session.
- Lock in facility bookings for training and home fixtures.
Hand this off: Chasing consent forms. Use one online form and ask each team manager to chase their own squad.
Phase 3: Renew and grow your sponsors (8 to 10 weeks out)
Sponsors keep subs affordable and kit on players' backs. Sort them before you order kit, not after, so the right logos go on the right shirts.
- Say thank you first. Send every current sponsor a short season recap: photos of their logo on matchday kit, results and community moments.
- Confirm renewals and logo files. Ask for a high-resolution or vector logo now, so your kit order is not held up waiting for artwork.
- Fill gaps early. If a sponsor has stepped away, start looking now. A new sponsor found after the kit order has gone in won't be on this season's shirts.
- Offer more than a logo: social media shout-outs, pitchside boards, a feature in your newsletter.
| Looking for a new sponsor? Kit Funder connects local sports clubs with businesses that want to back them. For your club, it's a smarter way to fund your kit. For sponsors, it's a direct route to a passionate, loyal community. Our AI does the matchmaking, so you spend less time cold-calling and more time at the club. Explore Kit Funder. |
Hand this off: The season recap. A parent with a good eye for photos can pull it together in an evening.
Phase 4: Sort the kit (6 to 8 weeks out)
Kit is where good intentions meet the pre-season rush. Every club wants new kit for the first fixture, so demand peaks in the weeks just before the season starts. Order early and you skip the queue. Running a football club? Our Pre-Season Kit Checklist goes into more detail.
- Confirm squad numbers for every team, including new starters and any late joiners you're expecting.
- Build a size list. Ask players to check against our size guide rather than guessing.
- Decide who pays for what. Matchday shirts might be covered by subs or sponsorship. Training tops, hoodies and supporter wear can be optional extras through your club shop.
- Refresh the design if it's time. New sponsor? New crest? With logos confirmed in Phase 3, this is the moment.
- Order spares. A couple of extra shirts in popular sizes saves a panic when someone joins mid-season.
| Every My Club Group customer gets a dedicated account manager and all-inclusive pricing, so the price you're quoted is the price you pay. Your account manager will confirm lead times when you order. And because our bespoke kit is fully sublimated, your colours, crest and sponsor logos are dyed into the fabric rather than printed on top, so there's no print layer to crack or peel. Design your kit. |
Hand this off: The size list. A shared online form collects sizes while you get on with everything else.
Phase 5: Plan your comms (4 weeks out)
- Pick your channels and stick to them. A team app or WhatsApp group, an email list and one social account is plenty for most clubs.
- Write a welcome pack: season dates, subs and how to pay, kit and club shop link, key contacts and your code of conduct.
- Build a weekly rhythm. Fixtures out midweek, results and photos after the weekend. Same format, every week.
- Celebrate early. Post your new kit reveal. It builds excitement, gives sponsors their moment and gets new members talking.
Hand this off: Match updates. A parent who loves social media can run results and photos every weekend.
Phase 6: First fixture week
- Check every player is registered and cleared to play.
- Hand out kit and agree who washes and returns any club-owned shirts.
- Confirm officials, venue and kick-off time with the opposition.
- Share the club shop link once more for anyone who missed it.
- Take a breath. The hardest part is done.
Hand this off: The kit wash rota. Agree it once and pin it in the team group.
Phase 7: Set up your online club shop
Here's our view: the club secretary should never be handling kit money. Not for training tops, not for hoodies, not for the bobble hats parents order in November. If you're collecting cash in an envelope or handing out bags of hoodies from your car boot, the system is broken, not you.
An online club shop fixes it. Players, parents and supporters choose their items, pick a size and pay online. You don't hold stock, and you don't touch the money.
- Choose your range: training wear, hoodies, bags, supporter kit, coaches' kit.
- Put the shop link in your welcome pack so every new member sees it on day one.
- Set a pre-season order window so kit arrives before the first fixture.
- Remind people at natural moments: the start of the season, the colder months and before Christmas.
| Our online club shops are free for qualifying clubs. You qualify if your club has more than 50 members, orders more than a standard kit (think training wear, coaches' kit or supporter garments), or has been with us for more than three years. Find out in three quick questions. Check if your club qualifies. |
Hand this off: All of it. Once the shop is live, your only job is sharing the link.
Your new season checklist at a glance
Print it, pin it to the clubhouse noticeboard, or share it with your committee. Add a name in the Owner column for every job you hand off.
| When | Task | Owner | Done |
| 10 to 12 weeks | Hold or book the AGM and confirm committee roles | ☐ | |
| 10 to 12 weeks | Update contacts and audit last season's kit | ☐ | |
| 8 to 10 weeks | Renew affiliation with your league or governing body | ☐ | |
| 8 to 10 weeks | Open player registrations and collect consents | ☐ | |
| 8 to 10 weeks | Check insurance, welfare officer and DBS checks | ☐ | |
| 8 to 10 weeks | Book training and home fixture facilities | ☐ | |
| 8 to 10 weeks | Thank, renew and recruit sponsors; collect logo files | ☐ | |
| 6 to 8 weeks | Confirm squad numbers and sizes, then order kit and spares | ☐ | |
| 4 weeks | Send the welcome pack and set up comms channels | ☐ | |
| 4 weeks | Post your new kit reveal | ☐ | |
| First fixture week | Final registration check, kit handout, confirm officials | ☐ | |
| After kit delivery | Set up or refresh your online club shop | ☐ |
Download the printable checklist here!
A word for the volunteers
Grassroots sport runs on volunteers. The treasurer chasing subs. The parent washing 15 shirts every Sunday night. The coach who turns up an hour early to put the nets out. None of it wins a trophy, but none of it happens without you.
That's why we do what we do. From bespoke teamwear to free online club shops and Kit Funder sponsorship matching, we want the admin side of your season to feel lighter, so you get more time for the bit that matters. Designed by your club, built by ours.
| New to My Club Group? Tell us about your club and we'll take it from there. Get a quote. |
FAQs
What are the main duties of a club secretary?
A club secretary manages registrations and affiliation, organises committee meetings and the AGM, keeps member records, acts as the main contact for the league and other clubs, and handles club communications. In smaller clubs, the role often covers kit, fixtures and sponsorship too.
I've just become club secretary. Where do I start?
Start with a handover from the previous secretary: league logins, contact lists, the club constitution and last season's minutes. Then check your affiliation and registration deadlines, because those are the dates you can't move. Everything else can follow the phases in this checklist.
When should a sports club start preparing for the new season?
Aim for 8 to 12 weeks before your first fixture. For winter sports like football, rugby, hockey and netball, that usually means early summer. For summer sports like cricket and athletics, start early in the new year.
Does the club secretary have to sit on the committee?
In most clubs, yes. The secretary is usually one of the club's officers alongside the chair and treasurer, and is elected or confirmed at the AGM. Check your club constitution for the exact rules.
How does an online club shop help a grassroots club?
It gives players, parents and supporters one place to order kit and extras. They pay online and kit is delivered, so the club doesn't hold stock or handle cash. My Club Group club shops are free for qualifying clubs.
How can a grassroots club find a new sponsor?
Start with the businesses already connected to your members, then offer sponsors real visibility: logos on kit, social media shout-outs and pitchside boards. Do it before you order kit, so new logos make this season's shirts. Kit Funder can also match your club with local businesses that want to sponsor community sport.
