Grassroots junior football teams across the North West are facing pitch hire costs of up to £120 an hour as parents, coaches and community organisers warn children are being priced out of the game.
Published council fees show the scale of the costs facing teams that need regular training slots and matchday facilities.
Council fees reveal rising cost of junior football pitches
Manchester City Council’s published pitch fees list a junior team full permit for 30 matches at £546 for pitch hire only, rising to £678 when a pitch, dressing room and showers are included.
That works out at around £18.20 per match for pitch hire alone, or £22.60 per match with changing facilities.
Spread across a squad of 12 players, the full permit would cost roughly £45.50 per child for pitch hire only, or £56.50 per child with dressing rooms and showers, before league fees, cup entries, training, coaching, balls, kit, boots or travel are added.
Manchester is not the only area where junior clubs face significant costs.
Liverpool City Council’s booking page lists an 11-a-side full pitch at £85.40 an hour, while a junior 7-a-side pitch costs £29.50 an hour.
In Sefton, the council’s 2025/26 fees show junior teams using Litherland Sports Park can pay £80 an hour for a full synthetic pitch, or £40 an hour for a peak-time half pitch.
In Wigan, where community coach Brian Lee is setting up Grassroots Guardians CIC, published junior pitch prices are £293 a season for under-11s to under-14s, rising to £397 for teams aged 15 to 18.
Junior clubs already rely on volunteers, fundraising and parent subscriptions.
These figures show how quickly the basic cost of football can rise, even before league fees, kit, coaching, equipment and travel are added.
‘We’re losing that talent’
Brian Lee said the growing financial pressure is creating a divide between children who can afford to stay in football and those who cannot.
Brian Lee told Mersey Sport Live: “Because the parents have to pay at the end of the day. There’s no other ways of doing it, unless the clubs get funding for it.
“But even so, it’s getting, the poverty gap’s getting bigger, and we’re losing that talent.
“The real talent, you know, the lads on the streets, the Rooney’s and the street footballers, are the ones who can’t afford to play.”
Grassroots Guardians CIC is being set up to support underprivileged young people through coaching, mentoring and access to football equipment.
Lee said the issue is not just about talent pathways, but about keeping children connected to sport, confidence and community.
He said: “It’s becoming a real crisis in grassroots sport. We’re seeing more teams than ever, and the appetite for kids to play is growing rapidly, but the infrastructure just isn’t keeping pace.
“When facilities are there, the hiring costs have become completely unviable for local clubs.”
He warned that rising pitch hire costs can leave clubs with little choice but to pass costs on to parents.
“What we are heading toward is a pay-to-play barrier that’s going to force kids out of the game,” he said.
“If pitch hire keeps rising, clubs have no choice but to hike their subs, and eventually, families simply won’t be able to afford it.”
Helping children stay in football
Lee said his work is already helping one young player remain involved in football.
“One in particular, I am helping to fund at the moment, is a young boy,” he said.
“Daffodil Dreams, which is a children’s charity in Wigan, has stepped forward and they’re paying subscriptions.
“I’ve got some boots from another guy who helps me out now and again with football boots and shin pads, you know, for kids who can’t afford kit.
“I actually make sure he gets transport to training and to matches and back again, and his mum’s so grateful.”
Lee said the financial gap is also visible higher up the football pathway.
“Don’t get me wrong, some talented kids go to academies, but when you look at the car park, they’re all driving high-end vehicles like Range Rovers and Porsches,” he said.
He added that while Wigan has some positive examples, including facilities such as William Fosters and Laithwaite Park, structured team football still comes with mounting costs.
“Wigan is a rare success story in this regard,” he said.
“We are incredibly lucky to have state-of-the-art facilities where you can still get on a pitch for £3 all day during the holidays.
“That’s how it should be. But when it comes to structured team play, the financial pressure is mounting.”
Parents and coaches raise concerns
Responses to a Merseysportlive callout in junior grassroots football Facebook groups across the North West reflected similar concerns from parents and coaches.
One respondent said: “Premier League football clubs and the government should subsidise grassroots football so it’s free for everyone.
“I know loads of families that can’t afford subs, so the kids won’t play. It should be accessible for everyone.”
Another highlighted the difficulty of finding affordable all-weather facilities.
They said: “A lot of games get postponed due to the poor conditions of pitches in bad weather.
“But the cost to hire a 3G pitch is too expensive. There is also a shortage of these 3G pitches, which likely contributes to the high price.”
Poll highlights football cost pressures
A separate anonymous Merseysportlive poll, which asked about the cost of sport and physical activity for young people, found football was one of the main concerns raised by respondents.
Although the poll looked at sport more widely, responses repeatedly pointed towards the pressure around grassroots football, particularly team fees, kit, boots, travel and regular training or match costs.
Club or team fees were the most common cost identified as difficult to afford, selected by 34.5% of respondents.
Kit and clothing was also selected by 17.2% of respondents, placing it among the leading cost pressures.
For grassroots football players, those costs can come on top of boots, shin pads, matchday travel and replacement kit throughout the season.
One poll respondent said: “Football boots are so expensive and never last very long.”
Another said: “Charging extortionate prices for sports, particularly football, nowadays, younger kids have no chance.”
However, some respondents said grassroots football can still provide good value when clubs keep fees reasonable and facilities are accessible.
One said: “Although costs are increasing for all aspects of everyday life, sports, particularly football, for the ages between 6-11 is affordable for most parents.
“Kit costs and monthly fees are fair in most clubs and are reasonable for the experience and training the children receive.”
‘Losing the heart of the community game’
Lee said targeted support is needed before more families are forced out.
“Football needs an organisation like mine that can step in and subsidise these costs,” he said.
“We need to bridge that gap so a child’s ability to stay in the system isn’t dictated by their parents’ bank balance.
“If we don’t act to make facilities accessible to everyone, we aren’t just losing players, we’re losing the heart of the community game.”
Have your say here, on a Merseysportlive anonymous poll.
(Featured photo by Tia Martello)
