GoCardless has recently partnered with 15 County Football Associations (FA) in England to support grassroots football.

This initiative aims to reduce the burden of late payments and encourage local teams to concentrate on building a strong community through sports. GoCardless collaborates closely with County FAs to enhance accessibility, diversity, and inclusion within the sport.

Facilitating Football Communities

Football clubs in these counties now have access to Direct Debit features for recurring payments—useful for subscriptions, for instance—and can pair them with Open Banking transactions to cover one-time charges such as tournament registration fees or payment of red and yellow cards.

GoCardless helps clubs automate collections, providing better visibility into their financial status, predicting future income, and minimizing costs by avoiding credit card usage and its associated fees. This allows more funds to be directed towards the sport, leading to greater financial stability for the clubs and increased opportunities for players.

The Girls Coaching Centre has been renamed the GoCardless Girls Coaching Centre, accompanied by a new GoCardless Hardship Fund that provides financial assistance to low-income GCC members. In Northumberland, St Peter’s Sports Hub will benefit from GoCardless-sponsored workshops for coaches focused on disability games. The Surrey FA will see GoCardless sponsor both the Women’s Cup and Discriminated Background Cup, while the Sussex FA headquarters will be named the GoCardless Stadium.

GoCardless has expanded its collaborations with County FAs in recent years, becoming the Official County Cups Sponsor for adult competitions in Kent. Last year, it also partnered with Total Grassroots and kit manufacturer Kelme to support local clubs financially. More such partnerships are expected to be announced in the upcoming months.

By streamlining payment processes, GoCardless helps clubs and their staff focus on making a positive impact within the community.