PayPal and The FA Team Up
PayPal has joined forces with The Football Association [The FA] to enable over a million grassroots players to pay their match fees with their smartphones.
Until now, the grassroots game has largely relied on money changing hands in person, with 80% of clubs taking cash and 38% using old fashioned cheques to collect payment. The sport’s reliance on cash and cheques means many clubs suffer from late or missing payments. 74% of club officials admit they waste time chasing late payments from players and parents, and a third of clubs report that up to 40% of their match fees are not collected. The FA estimates that grassroots clubs subsequently miss out on millions of pounds of uncollected fees every season.
From today, The FA Matchday App will transform how grassroots managers, players, and parents pay their match fees, annual subs, and even fines incurred for receiving a red or yellow card.
By digitising payments through The FA Matchday App, The FA and PayPal will simplify the collection and tracking of money for people who manage grassroots football teams. In fact, 71% of club officials have said they would welcome a new online payment system that could help them to collect match fees in a quick, simple and more secure way. The app enables club officials to spend less time chasing and counting cash, and more time invested in running their teams.
Simon Gerrard, Lancashire FA Chief Executive Officer, said: “This partnership between the FA and PayPal is another demonstration of how we are looking to modernise and improve the grassroots game both on a national and regional basis.”
“With thousands of club officials across Lancashire now able to pay their match fees on a smartphone through a system they know, this new four-year-deal is a revolution in the administration of grassroots football.”
Rob Harper, Director of Mobile Payments at PayPal UK, said, “Technology is enabling us to move away from cash in almost all aspects of life, and the beautiful game is next. Those forgotten fivers to pay for subs soon add up, and become a real headache for managers. Together with The FA, we’ve devised an easy way for players to leave their wallet or chequebook at home, and use their PayPal digital wallet to settle up instead. With over 24 million PayPal account holders in the UK, we are well placed to drive positive and lasting change for the sport.”
The FA Matchday App has also been developed to reduce the time and effort needed to run a grassroots football team. It allows club secretaries, managers and coaches to organise matches and training, select their line-up, and instantly give updates to their team. Players can share their availability, view all future fixtures and keep an eye on the tables and results.