Introducing the Friendly Finder: Book a Corporate Football Friendly in London

Why we built it

Most of the enquiries we get for friendlies start the same way: a message that says "we fancy a game, can you help?" Then follow five emails working out where, when, how many a side, who against and whether anyone wants a referee. By the time it is sorted, half the squad has lost interest.

The Friendly Finder asks those questions up front. It takes under a minute, and what arrives with us is a match we can actually go and book, not the start of a long thread.

What it asks

Where you want to play: north, south, east, west or central London, as many as suit you, or anywhere in London, or outside London if your team is based elsewhere. Then when: the next two weeks, this month, next month, whenever suits, or a specific date if you already have one in the diary.

Then the football. Five, seven or eleven-a-side. Whether you want us to find an opponent, play a client or partner, or split your own company into two teams. If we are finding the opposition, you can name an industry, which is handy if the match is partly about who you meet afterwards. Finally, whether you want a qualified referee, and whether you want the game captured, from team photos to a full highlights film.

Finding the opponent is the hard part, so we do it

The football is never the problem with a company friendly. The problem is finding another team at the right standard, with a free night that matches yours, and a pitch that is fair for both sides. That is where most friendlies die.

We run corporate leagues across London, so we already know a lot of company teams and roughly how good they are. That makes matching you with a fair game far quicker than cold-emailing the firm across the road.

Who a friendly suits

New squads testing the water before a league season. Teams who want a match against a client or partner, because ninety minutes on a pitch does more for a relationship than another lunch. And companies settling an internal argument properly: sales against marketing, one office against another.

If one game becomes a habit, our leagues run weekly 5-a-side seasons. The East London Property League starts on Tuesday 20 October, and the Creative League starts in January.

What happens after you send it

Sending your match is an enquiry, not a booking. We look at venues and opponents, then come back with a venue, a date and a price. Nothing is confirmed until you agree to it. With one to two weeks' notice we can often get you on a pitch, and more notice gives more choice of kick-off times.