Six-a-side football league

Team entries for our Autumn 2025-26 league will open at the end of August 2025 and entries for our Spring Term 2056-26 competition will open in January 2026.

Matches normally start the last week of September or the first week in October. Matches will start in February for the Spring League.

Teams will need to pay the entry fee in full in order to book a place in the league. Please enter via the University Online Store.

It's first come first served, with 20 team places available in the Autumn term league and 24 places in the Spring term league. 

For a whole term's worth of football, it's less than £2 per head per game! However, we require one person (e.g. team captain) to pay for the whole team entry in advance.

The Early Bird entry fee for the first four teams to sign up is £126 per team for one term. The standard entry fee thereafter is £146 per team for one term.

The league is open to any University of Derby student. Teams require a minimum of six players (max of ten players) per team with a named captain/vice-captain and an original team name.

If you are an individual player (and not yet part of a team) we will help you join up with a team if there are places available.

No more than two players currently representing the University (at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th team level) in BUCS Football competition 2025-26 can be included in your team.

The league will run on Fridays between 4pm and 7pm for 10-11 weeks (Sept to Dec and Feb to May). Kick-off times vary to space out the arrival and departure times of teams. Teams will therefore need to be flexible and able to play fixtures anytime between 4pm - 7pm.

League matches are played at the University Sports Centre's Upper 3G pitch. The sports centre is located at our Kedleston Road campus.

There will be two leagues of 10 teams and they will be played in a round-robin format over nine weeks, followed by play-off round between the leagues and league final.

Fixtures will be played on a quarter of a full-sized pitch with one goalkeeper and five outfield players using standard FA six-a-side rules with two 20-minute halves.

There's no limit to the number of substitutions you make during a match - so all of your 10 team players can get to play.

Footwear

• Players must wear boots that have studs - either moulded stud football boots or screw-in stud boots.
• Blades are prohibited as they can seriously damage the synthetic turf.
• Normal trainers are not recommended as they contain no grip and will also compress the pitch surface.

Balls

• Teams will need to provide their own match football.

Teamwear / Bibs

• We recommend teams decide on a specific kit colour to play in or buy some cheap bibs. While this isn't essential, having a team colour or bib will ensure your team is easily identifiable.

(We have a small number of bibs that teams can borrow for matches if needed)

As a team, you will benefit from weekly, officiated matches at our Kedleston Road campus. The league is a great way to stay active while you're at university.

There will be a trophy for the winning team in each of the autumn and spring league competitions, plus winner and runner-up medals for the finalists.

Regular photos will be taken and action shots and shared on social media, as well as formal team photos taken.