About Us
our Story
Play 5-A-Side started out as Football Invasion back in 2009. Football Invasion was an idea formed by Andrew’s own personal experience of playing 5-a-side football within Berkshire. He noticed there was something missing from these other 5-a-side leagues that he wanted to incorporate into Football Invasion: providing quality support and organisation for the teams. 14 years later we have now grown even bigger by providing the same support and professional expertise to women’s 5-a-side football.
Our mission has always stayed the same and is a simple one: to provide a high quality social league format and environment which is still competitive, but also fun, friendly, and suitable for all ages and abilities.
We’ve quickly become the UK’s fastest growing provider for women’s 5-a-Side football. We continue to grow and as an organisation have a continuous improvement philosophy resulting in us always striving to improve every area of the business to ensure we deliver to the highest standard.
Our team
Andrew Norton
Director
Andrew founded Play Sports Leagues Ltd in 2009, and the Play Football brand was born in 2015. Play Football quickly became the UK’s largest provider of social Football leagues and has gone from strength to strength since. Andrew is extremely proud of our fantastic team who continue to fulfil our original mission of providing high quality social Football leagues that have a hugely positive impact on so many people’s health, fitness and mental wellbeing.
Rob Fulker
Operations Manager
Rob joined Play 5-A-Side in 2015, having worked with director, Andrew, in another sports business, and taught PE in schools after he completed his sports science degree in 2013. Andrew saw a gap in the market for weekly social football and began to work on setting up PLAY 5-a-Side – previously known as Football Invasion. Rob’s main passion is football so agreed to take on the management and grew the business over the years with the company now really focussing on women’s 5-a-Side leagues all across the country.
Tamsin Stevenson
Sports Administrator Manager
Tamsin joined Play 5-A-Side in 2022 whilst continuing her role within Play Netball. Tamsin graduated in 2019 with a Masters in Sports Psychology. She now manages our administration team and organises the daily routines of all Play 5-a-Side leagues across the UK. Tamsin liaises with Match Night Coordinators, Ref’s and teams, making sure everything runs smoothly their end. Outside of work, Tamsin enjoys netball socially on a weekly basis.
Rachel Saunders
Sports Administrator
Rachel joined Play Football in 2022 after previously working for the NHS 111 service. Rachel helps to organise the running of all Play 5-a-Side leagues across the UK, assisting with the admin and operation of managing a large number of players, teams and officials. Outside of work, Rachel plays and coordinates our Play Netball Leagues four nights a week, and often is seen at her local cricket club where she volunteers.
Hannah Woodgate
Finance Accounts Assistant
Hannah joined Play 5-a-Side in in February 2022 after previously working as an Accounts Executive for a large insurance company. She now oversees all team payments and assists the Finance invoicing, equipment orders and refunds. Outside of work her two young children keep her extremely busy and active.
Alison Cole
Sports Marketing Executive
Alison joined the Play 5-A-Side team in 2021 after previously working at a newspaper publishing group. She now leads our marketing strategies as well as oversees all social media channels, brand partnerships, and key public events. Outside of work, she plays netball for a local club in Eastleigh and loves going for long hikes (The Three Peaks Challenge is on her bucket list)! Alison has become a supporter of the Lionesses after watching them smash the 2022 Women’s Euros and admires all the hard work they’ve achieved to give women and young girls the same equal access to the sport.
Hannah Hook
Sports Marketing Assistant
Hannah has been in the Play 5-a-Side team since August 2023 and uses both traditional and digital marketing within her role, with a specific interest in photography, design, copywriting and social media. Hannah currently plays in one of our Play Netball leagues and is hoping to join a 5-a-Side league when one opens near her. Hannah is a fan of football in general, and finds it difficult to commit to supporting just one team! Hannah has grown up playing and watching a variety of different sports, but her favourites are F1 and riding her horses.
Coordinator Team
Match Night Coordinators & Referees
Each of our leagues will have one designated coordinator who’s role is to referee the games and make sure matches on the night run smoothly and efficiently. Our Coordinators have plenty of experience when it comes to refereeing and playing football; they are here to help guide you back into the sport, but most importantly, they want to make sure you’re having fun!
REVIEWS
I love Play Football, I had been looking for a friendly social league for a long time and this was it. It’s a great way to get out of the house, keep fit and make friends. I had not played Football since leaving school (18 years to be exact)! But it didn’t take long for me to remember. This is my ‘me time’, as most mum’s will know ‘me time’ is hard to come by, but for me this is time well spent.
5 star review from Trustpilot
Sam