Social football · Wallingford, Oxfordshire · since 1985
It's on
Wednesday.
Six o'clock every week, all year round. Turn up, get a game, go to the pub.
Next game
Wednesday
Kick-off
6:00pm
Be there for 5:45
Getting a game
In summer, just turn up.
No sign-up, no ballot, no need to message first. We play on grass at Crowmarsh Gifford and the pitch expands to fit however many we get, so there's always room.
We play for a little over an hour and finish with next goal wins. It's a casual way to settle it, not that anyone especially cares who won by the time we reach the pub.
Summer subs
£30 for the season
Covers every Wednesday on the grass.
If it's your first time, say hello in the drop-ins group so someone knows to look out for you. Come along and play before you pay anything.
In winter, places are limited.
The astro at Wallingford School is a small pitch, so we cap numbers at nine a side. Regular players hold a place for the season. Everything left over goes to drop-ins each week, in the order people accept.
Here's how a week runs:
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Monday, 9am
Season places go out
An event goes up in the season group asking who's playing on Wednesday.
-
Tuesday, noon
Spare places released
Anything unclaimed opens up to drop-ins, with the number of places posted in the group.
-
Tuesday onwards
Accept the invite
Accept in the drop-ins group. Places go in the order people accept, so being quick matters.
-
After the game
Settle up
Drop-ins pay £3.50 by bank transfer. That covers the pitch and puts a little aside for balls and goalposts.
One thing we're strict about
Six o'clock means six o'clock.
Get there for a quarter to. That gives us time to mark out the pitch, carry the goals into place and sort the teams out, which is a great deal quicker with a few pairs of hands.
Turning up late in summer mostly just means everyone else is stood around waiting for you, and it's harder to work out the pitch size and even up the sides.
In winter it costs us. The school charges by the hour and we're off the pitch at 7pm sharp, because the next lot are already waiting. Every minute we start late is a minute of football we've paid for and not played.
What to bring
Not much, but get the tops right.
Tops
One white, one coloured
It's how we split the sides. No grey, and nothing else you'd have to squint at. It causes chaos.
Footwear
Boots or astro trainers
The grass goes hard after a dry spell, so trainers are often the comfier choice.
Astro trainers only
No studs on the astro. It's a condition of the booking, not a preference.
Water
Bring some
There's nothing to buy at either ground.
Afterwards
Money for the pub
Most of us go on afterwards. Entirely optional, widely taken up.
Afterwards
The Cross Keys, unless there's a match on.
The Cross Keys on the High Street is home. It has no televisions, which is exactly why we like it, and it's open from four so it's ready when we are.
When there's a Premier League or Champions League game worth watching, we'll go somewhere with a screen instead. The Town Arms, further along the High Street, is the usual answer.
Whichever it is that week gets posted in the group. Nobody minds if you skip it, and nobody minds if the pub is the main reason you came.
The grounds
Two pitches, one Wednesday.
We follow the clocks. Summer football is on grass at Crowmarsh Gifford, starting the first Wednesday after the clocks go forward. We move to the astro at Wallingford School a fortnight before they go back, and stay there until the end of March.
Crowmarsh Gifford Recreation Ground
Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford OX10 8FN
Grass. Gets properly hard after a dry spell. Portable goals, so come early and give us a hand. Parking on site.
Wallingford School
St George's Road, Wallingford OX10 8HH
Floodlit astro. Small pitch, hence the cap on numbers. No studs. Off at 7pm sharp. Parking on site.
Join in
Ask to join the drop-ins group.
That's where the games get organised. Requests need approving, so it might not be instant. If you'd rather ask a question first, email works just as well.