Replies
Every called-up player answers available or unavailable before the deadline, even when not coming.
Team rules · casual football
Short football team rules everyone actually follows.
Reply to call-ups, warn when you cannot come, wash the kit in turn, pay your subs: the rules that prevent friction in a casual team, written once for the whole season.
Free to start. On the web, the App Store and Google Play.
Copyable template
Football team rules to copy.
Copy this text into your team notes, fill in the brackets, then pin it at the start of the season. Ten rules are enough for a casual, small-sided or veterans team.
Team rules · [team name] · season [2026-2027]
1. Call-ups: every called-up player replies available or unavailable by [day and time]. No reply is not a reply.
2. Last-minute absence: tell [coach or captain] directly, at least [notice] before the meeting time.
3. Meeting time: be at [meeting place] at [time], [duration] before kick-off, ready to play.
4. Playing time: everyone who turns up plays. When the squad is full, those who replied on time come first.
5. Rotation: when there are too many players, those who sit out this match come first next time.
6. Kit: washing rotates between players, in the order of [the squad list]. The full set comes back for the next match.
7. Subs: [amount] per [season / month], paid to [name] by [date]. It covers [pitch / referee / balls / insurance].
8. Respect: no abuse towards the referee, opponents or teammates. A dissent fine is paid back by [the player / the kitty].
9. Group chat: for organisation and banter. Call-up replies go through [the app / the poll].
10. Decisions: [coach or captain] picks the team. The rules change at the start of the season, by majority of those present.
Before sharing it
- Every bracket is replaced by a name, a time or a precise amount.
- The reply deadline is the same for every match of the season.
- The contact for last-minute absences is one person, not “the group”.
- The subs line says what the money pays for, to avoid questions mid-season.
- The text fits on one phone screen and everyone has read it before the first match.
These rules organise your team’s life. In a registered club, they complement the club’s constitution and your league’s rules, without replacing them.
Rotation
Who plays, who sits out, who washes the kit: rules everyone knows before the first match.
Team life
Subs, lateness, respect and the group chat: the useful minimum, not a penal code.
From the rules to the app
Replies, rotation and kit, tracked without chasing.
In Caneta, the coach calls up the group, every player answers available or unavailable in the app, and those who have not replied get a reminder notification. Available players get a reminder the day before with the meeting time and place.
The squad screen separates selected players from those sitting this match out, and closing the match records who washes the kit. Rotations and kit washes are counted over the season, up to the kit washing champion in the Hall of Fame.
Rule 1 starts with a clear message: use the Football Call-Up: Message Template and Checklist.
To check who actually turned up, keep the Free Football Attendance Sheet Template to Copy.
Rules 4 and 5 shape every match day: announce the side with the Free Football Lineup Generator.