Practical help running a club
Buddle · supported by Sport England
Free guidance and tools for volunteers, income, planning and making a club more sustainable.
Explore Buddle ↗FIND THE RIGHT SUPPORT
You do not have to find every answer here.
Practical club resources, safeguarding routes and places to turn when you need support beyond coaching or mentoring.
Need urgent help?
Play in the Present is not a crisis or clinical service, and our enquiry inbox is not monitored for emergencies. In the UK, call 999 or go to A&E if someone’s life is at risk or you cannot keep yourself or someone else safe.
In England, for urgent mental-health help, call 111 and select the mental health option, or seek an urgent GP appointment. Read NHS guidance ↗. Outside the UK, contact your local emergency service; use the country directory below for non-emergency helpline options.
Practical help around your sport.
Start with the task you need to work on. These resources belong to their named organisations; listing them does not imply a partnership or endorsement.
Football learning and volunteer routes
England Football Learning
Find official learning, articles and routes into grassroots football. The free Playmaker course is listed alongside other courses; check individual course terms.
Explore football learning ↗Club structure and development
UK Coaching
An introductory guide to governance, finances, marketing and facilities. Further courses and memberships may have charges.
Read the club guidance ↗A route beyond mentoring.
You can use these services whether or not you take part in sport. Check the location and eligibility shown by each provider.
Someone to listen
Samaritans
Call 116 123 free, day or night, for listening support. Other contact and accessibility options are on their website.
Contact Samaritans ↗Support for under-19s
Childline
Call 0800 1111 or explore online support. Childline explains its confidentiality and safeguarding boundaries on its site.
Visit Childline ↗Find support in your country
Find A Helpline
Choose your country to find relevant helplines and check their languages, availability and contact methods. This is not an emergency dispatch service.
Choose your country ↗Know where to raise a concern.
Use your club’s welfare or safeguarding lead and the relevant governing body’s procedures. If there is immediate danger, use emergency services.
Cricket safeguarding
ECB / Cricket Regulator
Find the official route for sharing a concern and information about club and county safeguarding roles.
Find cricket safeguarding support ↗Football safeguarding
The Football Association
Official football safeguarding information and reporting guidance. Follow your club and County FA procedures.
Find football safeguarding support ↗Keeping children safe in sport
NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit
Guidance for welfare officers, coaches, volunteers and parents, including how to deal with a concern.
Read safeguarding guidance ↗External links checked 31 October 2026. Services and access can change; their own websites carry current information. We receive no commission from these support links.
Back to free practical tools ↗