Match day

Match day checklist: nothing left in the car.

Match days go well when the boring jobs are done early. England Football's advice to grassroots coaches is simple: build a checklist and run through it before every game. Here is one, with the first-aid parts that often get forgotten.

Updated 24 October 2026 · Kit lists from the Benchkit catalogue, with sources below

The week before

Confirm the fixture, kick-off time and venue with the other team.
Confirm the referee.
Check player availability and pick the squad.
Send families the meeting time and the full address and postcode, especially for away games.
Sort transport and who is driving.
Ask parents to help with jobs: setting up, the first-aid kit, oranges and drinks.

The night before or the morning

Match kit, spare shirts and the goalkeeper kit
Match balls, a pump, corner flags and nets if you supply them
Team sheet and any registration cards your league needs
The first-aid kit: check the cold packs, plasters and tape were refilled after last week
The emergency card for this venue: local number, address, nearest defibrillator
Phone charged

Our Coach's bag checklist has the full bag list.

At the ground

Arrive early and walk the pitch: glass, holes, goalposts secured.
Find the defibrillator (AED) and the first-aid point, and tell another adult where they are.
Check the ambulance route is clear and the gate is open.
Put the first-aid kit at the side of the pitch, near the bench, with ice ready on hot days.
Agree who looks after injuries during the game.

During the game

Keep the kit open and within reach, not zipped up behind the bench.
Head knock? If in doubt, sit them out. A player with a suspected concussion does not come back on that day.
Note what you use from the kit as you go.

After the final whistle

Report the result the way your league asks.
Collect kit, bibs, balls and lost property.
Refill the first-aid kit, or tell whoever does it what was used. This one job is what keeps next week's kit complete.
Thank the referee and the helpers.

Expiring items need a regular look too: see how to check a first-aid kit.

The match-day jobs Benchkit takes off your list

Players and parents tap what they used on the kit's QR sticker, so the refill list writes itself. The same sticker shows the emergency card for the venue. Free for teams.

Set up your kit, free

Questions

What should be on a match day checklist?

Fixture, referee and squad confirmed; kit, balls and team sheet packed; first-aid kit refilled; emergency card for the venue; at the ground a pitch check and knowing where the defibrillator is; and after the game refilling the first-aid kit and reporting the result.

Where should the first-aid kit be during a match?

At the side of the pitch, near the bench and open, not in the changing room or a car.

What should I do before an away game?

Send families the full address and postcode, sort transport, and update your emergency card with the away venue's address and nearest defibrillator.

Sources

First-aid information, not medical advice. Kit lists are guidance: what you carry should match the training of the people using it. A first-aid course (for example from St John Ambulance or the Red Cross in your country) is the best preparation. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.