Football club insurance: what you actually need, and what it costs
Two covers are effectively compulsory for every FA-affiliated club in England, one more is required by law if you employ anyone, and the rest is judgment. Here's the full picture with the prices that are actually published — most insurance content hides them behind "get a quote".
Short answer
Mandatory via FA affiliation: public liability (£10m minimum limit, ~£20–£22 per club per season on County FA schemes) and personal accident for every team (£17–£22 per youth team, £55–£227 per open-age team depending on tier, 2026/27 published rates).
Mandatory by law if you employ anyone: employers' liability, £5m minimum.
Optional but worth pricing: directors & officers cover for your committee, property/equipment, and one-off event cover (from ~£46–£69 per event).
What's mandatory
| Cover | Status | Minimum | Who requires it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Mandatory for all FA-affiliated clubs | £10m indemnity limit | The FA Standard Code of Rules, enforced through County FA affiliation (confirmed on Durham FA, West Riding FA and Amateur FA pages) |
| Personal accident | Mandatory per team, including U5/U6 (some County FAs cover the youngest groups free) | Open age: min £30/week benefit (West Riding); youth minimum set annually by the FA | FA / County FA affiliation |
| Employers' liability | Legally required only if the club employs staff — paid ground staff, bar staff, contracted coaches | £5m (statutory) | Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969; fines up to £2,500/day for non-compliance, £1,000 for not displaying the certificate |
The subtlety most committees miss: a club with adult and youth affiliations may need separate public liability policies for each (the Amateur FA states this explicitly). Check with your County FA rather than assuming one policy covers everything.
The two FA insurance schemes — know which one you're in
"FA insurance" is actually two different arrangements, and clubs regularly confuse them:
- The National Game Insurance Scheme (NGIS) — the FA's national scheme, delivered by Marsh Sport (which used to trade as Bluefin Sport), the FA's appointed broker since 2012. Pricing is not published; you go via your County FA or call them.
- County-level Sportsguard schemes — the broker Sportsguard contracts directly with individual County FAs (West Riding, Essex, the Amateur FA among others) for the same mandatory covers — and these County FAs do publish prices, which is where the figures below come from.
Practical consequence: your price and even whether you pay at all depends on your county. Essex FA currently pays 100% of the Sportsguard public liability premium for eligible grassroots clubs and contributes £7 per team toward personal accident. Your first stop is always your own County FA's insurance page.
Published prices, 2026/27 season
| Cover | Published price | Scheme / source |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability (per club) | £20 (West Riding) · £22 (Amateur FA) · £0 in Essex (FA-subsidised) | Sportsguard via County FA pages |
| Personal accident — youth (per team) | U5/U6 free · Silver £17 (meets FA minimum) · Gold £22 | West Riding FA / Sportsguard |
| Personal accident — open age (per team) | Enhanced-30 £55 (meets FA minimum) · higher tiers £95–£227 | West Riding FA / Sportsguard |
| One-off event / tournament cover | from £46.46 (Protectivity, one-day event) · from £69 (Event Insurance Services) | Provider sites |
Translation for a typical grassroots club running two adult teams and six youth teams in a Sportsguard county: roughly £20 + 2 × £55 + 6 × £17 ≈ £232 per season at the FA-minimum tiers. Insurance is one of the cheaper lines in a club budget — which is exactly why underinsuring to save £50 is a bad trade.
These are the published 2026/27 rates from specific County FA schemes. Prices, tiers and subsidies differ by county and change each season — confirm with your own County FA before budgeting. This guide is general information, not insurance advice.
Optional covers worth considering
- Directors & officers (D&O). Not FA-mandated, but it's the one that protects your committee members personally for decisions made running the club. Howden arranges cover up to £10m, and policies can extend to legal liability following alleged safeguarding failures (the alleged perpetrator is never covered). If your club has real money, a bar, or employees, your volunteers deserve this.
- Property and equipment. Goals, mowers, kit, clubhouse contents. Insure4Sport includes £250 of equipment cover free on team policies; beyond that it's priced by quote.
- Event and tournament cover. For summer tournaments and fundraisers: public liability up to £10m, equipment and event-money protection, optional cancellation — published from about £46 per one-day event.
What actually drives your price, per Howden: the sport's risk level, member numbers, how comprehensive the cover is, and your claims history. Personal accident scales with the benefit tier you pick — the £55 vs £227 spread is the difference between the FA-minimum weekly benefit and the top tier.
Who sells it
| Provider | Role | Pricing transparency |
|---|---|---|
| Marsh Sport (NGIS) | The FA's appointed national broker for grassroots PL + PA | Not published — via your County FA or by phone |
| Sportsguard | Broker behind several County FA schemes; 30+ years in grassroots sport | Published on County FA pages (see table above) |
| Insure4Sport | Direct specialist: PL to £10m, EL, PA with loss-of-earnings to £750/week, equipment | Online quote tool only |
| Howden | Broker to amateur clubs and 300+ sport governing bodies; D&O, commercial combined, floodlights/stands, fidelity | Quote-based |
| Protectivity | One-off sports event / tournament cover | Published — from £46.46/event |
| SportsCover Direct | Team policies: PA, personal liability, legal expenses, tours | Quote-based (10% online discount advertised) |
FAQ
Is football club insurance included in FA affiliation?
Partly, and it varies by county. Affiliation requires the covers; some County FAs bundle or subsidise them (Essex pays 100% of eligible clubs' public liability), others collect the premium alongside affiliation fees. The requirement is universal; the payment route isn't.
Do youth teams really need personal accident cover?
Yes — it's compulsory for every affiliated team including U5/U6, though the youngest age groups are covered free in some county schemes and youth pricing (£17–£22 per team) is far below open-age.
We pay a coach £50 a week cash. Does employers' liability apply?
This is exactly the grey zone that catches clubs out. The legal duty attaches to employing staff; whether a regularly-paid coach counts as an employee depends on the arrangement. Given the penalty is up to £2,500 per day, ask a broker rather than assuming — and get the answer in writing.
What do clubs actually claim for?
The recurring categories, per Sportsguard: player injuries in matches and training (personal accident), spectator or third-party injury and property damage (public liability), and damaged or stolen equipment. Ordinary Sunday-league incidents, not freak events — which is why the mandatory covers exist.
Related on Football Business Desk
Sources
All requirements and prices verified on 2 September 2026:
- Durham FA — Insurance (£10m PL minimum)
- West Riding FA — Insurance (2026/27 Sportsguard pricing tables)
- Amateur FA — Club insurance
- Essex FA — Insurance (subsidy details)
- GOV.UK — Employers' liability insurance
- Marsh Sport — National Game Insurance Scheme
- Howden — sports liability / D&O
- Insure4Sport — football insurance
- Protectivity — sports event insurance
No paid placements in this guide; if that ever changes, placements will be labeled.