Sport-Specific Guide: Football (Soccer & Aussie Rules) — GoClubPro

Training Module 35 | Football Club Configuration & Terminology

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About This Guide

Football clubs (soccer, Australian Rules football, rugby league, rugby union) have specific setup patterns that differ from cricket. This guide covers the most common configurations for Australian community football clubs.

Primary audience: Football Club Admins, Treasurers Applies to: Soccer clubs (FFA/Football Australia registered), AFLW/AFL community clubs, rugby league, rugby union

For cricket-specific guidance, see Module 32. This guide covers all other football codes.

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SECTION A: SOCCER / ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Terminology Mapping

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Typical Soccer Club Structure

Season: 2026 Winter Season
├── Competition: Men's Division 1
│ └── Team: [Club] Men's Division 1
├── Competition: Men's Division 2
│ └── Team: [Club] Men's Division 2
├── Competition: Women's Division 1
│ └── Team: [Club] Women's Division 1
├── Competition: Under 18 Mixed
│ └── Team: [Club] Under 18
├── Competition: Under 16 Boys
│ └── Team: [Club] Under 16 Boys
├── Competition: Under 16 Girls
│ └── Team: [Club] Under 16 Girls
├── Competition: MiniRoos Under 10
│ └── Team: [Club] MiniRoos U10
└── Competition: MiniRoos Under 8
 └── Team: [Club] MiniRoos U8

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Soccer Fee Configuration

Typical structure:

MiniRoos tip: MiniRoos match fees are almost always $0 — enter $0.00 (not blank) so the ledger records a clean $0 entry rather than an "unconfigured" warning.

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Football Australia / State Federation Levies

Soccer clubs pay per-player registration levies to Football Australia (FA) and their state federation. These are separate from club fees and are typically:

• Managed via My Football Club (Football Australia's platform)
• Billed to the club by the state federation
• Appear in GoClubPro as Treasurer → Bills (if your state association uses GoClubPro's association billing)
• Or managed entirely outside GoClubPro (football associations vary significantly)

Recommended communication to members: In your pre-season broadcast, clearly state: "Your registration fee to [Club Name] is $[X]. You will also receive a separate invoice from [State Federation] for $[Y] — this is paid directly through My Football Club."

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Schedule Sync Integration for Soccer

Soccer may use your league platform depending on your association. If not:

Alternative: CSV Import

1. Export fixture schedule from your association's platform (most state federations provide CSV exports)
2. Admin Panel → Integrations → Upload CSV
3. Map the columns: Date, Time, Home Team, Away Team, Venue

Check column mapping carefully — association CSV formats vary. Required fields:

• Date (DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD)
• Time (HH:MM)
• Opponent name
• Venue/Ground name

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SECTION B: AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL (AFL COMMUNITY)

Terminology Mapping

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Typical AFL Community Club Structure

Season: 2026 Season
├── Competition: Seniors (A Grade)
│ └── Team: [Club] Seniors
├── Competition: Reserves (B Grade)
│ └── Team: [Club] Reserves
├── Competition: Under 18.5
│ └── Team: [Club] Under 18.5
├── Competition: Under 16.5
│ └── Team: [Club] Under 16.5
├── Competition: Women's (Open Age)
│ └── Team: [Club] Women's
├── Competition: Women's Under 18
│ └── Team: [Club] Women's Under 18
└── Competition: Auskick (if applicable)
 └── Team: [Club] Auskick

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AFL Fee Configuration

AFL community clubs often have higher registration fees due to AFL Insurance requirements.

Typical structure:

AFL Insurance component: AFL affiliation requires club-paid insurance per player, built into registration. The insurance levy portion is typically remitted via your state AFL commission. This works the same way as soccer levies — either billed via Bills tab if your association uses GoClubPro, or handled externally.

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Finals Structure for AFL

AFL finals are knockout rounds added to the regular season. They appear in your league platform (if your association uses it) or need to be added manually.

Key difference from cricket: AFL finals happen on weekends that aren't pre-scheduled — they depend on where your team finishes. Handle this by:

1. Watching the ladder at season end
2. Once finals schedule is known, add fixtures manually
3. Finals match fees may differ — configure separately if needed (admin can override per-fixture fees in the ledger)

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Squad Management for 22-Player Teams

AFL squads are larger than most sports (up to 22 on ground, extended squad ~30). The Squad Builder works the same way but at larger scale:

Best practice for large squads:

• Ask all 30+ players to RSVP by Tuesday for Saturday fixtures
• Use the availability filter in Squad Builder to first see only "RSVPed Going, No Blockout, No Injury"
• Build your core 22 from this filtered view
• Name your emergency list by selecting 3-4 additional players to the squad (they get a "On Standby" notification)

Note: GoClubPro's squad confirmation system doesn't differentiate between "named in 22" and "emergency list" — coaches use the Description field on the squad confirmation message to communicate this to players.

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SECTION C: RUGBY LEAGUE & RUGBY UNION

Quick Setup Reference

Rugby League and Rugby Union follow similar patterns to AFL. Key differences:

Admin tip for rugby: If your association doesn't provide CSV exports, build your fixture list manually in GoClubPro via Admin Panel → Schedule → Add Fixture. For a 20-week season this takes about 30 minutes once and eliminates the sync dependency entirely.

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SECTION D: MULTI-CODE CLUBS

Some community clubs run multiple football codes (e.g., soccer + AFL, or AFL + cricket). GoClubPro handles this within a single club — create separate Competitions per code.

Example structure for a multi-code club:

Season: 2026 Multi-Sport Season
├── Competition: AFL Seniors
├── Competition: AFL Women's
├── Competition: Soccer Men's Division 1
├── Competition: Soccer Under 16
└── Competition: Cricket A Grade

Fee independence: Each competition has its own fee configuration. A member in both AFL Seniors and Soccer Men's will have separate fees generated for each.

Member assignment: Assign the member to both teams. They appear in both coaches' Squad Builders independently.

Scheduling conflict detection: GoClubPro doesn't auto-detect fixture clashes between codes. Multi-code players should use blockout dates to communicate when a code conflict exists.

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VISUAL: Season Timeline Comparison

SOCCER SEASON (Typical: April → September)
Apr │ Pre-season │ Friendlies (manual) ─────────────────────────────────┐
May │ Round 1 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
... │ Rounds continue ──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
Aug │ Finals (if qualified) ────────────────────────────────────────────┤
Sep │ Grand Final ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

AFL SEASON (Typical: March → August)
Mar │ Pre-season + Training runs ───────────────────────────────────────┐
Apr │ Round 1 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
... │ Regular season (18–20 rounds) ────────────────────────────────────┤
Aug │ Finals (5 rounds) ────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

RUGBY LEAGUE (Typical: March → September)
Similar structure; State finals extend into September

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TOOLTIPS & HINTS

• MiniRoos / Auskick — always configure as separate Competitions with $0 match fee; these are development programs, not competitive grades
• Women's programs — many clubs waive or reduce match fees for women's grades as a growth strategy; enter the actual amount (even $0) rather than leaving blank
• CSV imports — association CSV formats vary wildly; test with 3–5 rows before importing the full season
• Multi-code members — they need to be assigned to each team separately; there's no bulk "add to all sports" function

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FAQ

Q: Our soccer club runs both a winter and a summer season. How do we manage two seasons? A: Create two Seasons in Admin Panel. Make only one active at a time. Archive the winter season when done, then activate summer. Member team assignments do not carry over — re-assign at the start of each season.

Q: Players transfer mid-season to another club. How do we handle departure? A: Admin Panel → Members → remove them from their team assignment. If they owe fees, Treasurer handles collection before or after removal. Removing from a team doesn't delete their account or payment history.

Q: Our U18 players sometimes play in the Seniors. How do we handle dual registration? A: Assign them to both Teams (U18 Team and Seniors Team). The coach for each team can see them in their own Squad Builder. Match fees are generated per fixture for each team they're selected in — confirm this matches your club's double-squad policy.

Q: We have an AFLW development program that's not part of the official competition. How do we list fixtures? A: Create a non-competitive Competition (name it "AFLW Development") and add fixtures manually. Set match fee to $0 if it's a no-charge development activity.

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COMMON MISTAKES

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SHORT ONBOARDING SCRIPT

"For football clubs, the structure is the same as any sport: one Competition per grade, one Team per XI/22. Key points specific to football: MiniRoos and Auskick should have $0 match fee — enter zero, don't leave blank. Association levies are billed separately from your club fees — communicate this to members upfront. If your association doesn't use your league platform, export their CSV and upload it via Integrations. Multi-code? Create separate Competitions per code in the same Season. Women's programs deserve their own Competition even if the match fee is $0."

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MICRO-TRAINING QUICK TIPS

• One Competition per grade/age group — not one "Juniors" for all
• MiniRoos / Auskick: $0.00 match fee, not blank
• Association levies are separate — communicate this pre-season
• No your league platform for your code? Use CSV import via Admin Panel → Integrations
• Multi-code members: assign to each team separately
• Women's grade: set up as a full Competition even if $0 fees

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Training Module 35 | See also: 32 Cricket Setup · [25 Schedule Sync Integration](25-league platform-integration.md) · 09 Settings