The pitch and the price

This starts with the two numbers that set the baseline: what the pitch costs you per game, and what you currently charge each player. A $70 pitch split evenly at $7 a head needs exactly 10 paying players to break even — not 9, not 9.5, exactly 10. Games per month and season length are set here too, so every projection below is built from numbers you’ve already seen.

The audit

Once you enter how many people you usually invite against how many actually show, the audit turns that gap into money: how much you personally cover out of pocket per game, per month, and across a full season, based on your current price and your current no-show pattern — not an industry average, since no reliable one exists for casual football. The tipping point line states the same fact a second way: how many paying players you currently have against the break-even headcount.

Do no-shows pay?

This single toggle changes the whole shape of the result. If your group still collects money from people who don’t turn up, the shortfall can shrink to nothing even with a rough attendance record. If only attendees pay, every empty spot is a real hole in the pitch fee. The pitch diagram always shows who’s physically there, no matter which rule you’re using — the toggle changes the money, not who showed up.

The break-even number, exactly

Most cost splits get rounded to a whole number of players without saying so. This one doesn’t. If your pitch and price work out to 10.6 players needed, the calculator says so directly, and explains that showing up with only 10 still leaves a real, measurable shortfall — not a rounding artifact.

What one more player is worth

This line shows what a single additional paying player is worth to you — per game, per month, and across the season — so a small change in your invite list has a concrete number attached to it.

What if attendance changes?

Move the slider to test a different attendance rate. The calculator shows what you’d cover, or keep as a buffer, at that turnout — and how many players short of (or past) break-even that turnout leaves you.

Comparing a season model

The two cards compare your current pay-per-game total against a season where a set number of players pay upfront for a guaranteed seat, using the same sign for both: a plus means money left over, a minus means you’re still covering a gap. Below the cards, the calculator solves the model in both directions: given a number of guaranteed seats, what price covers the pitch; and given a price, how many guaranteed seats are needed. Twelve games at $70 with 10 guaranteed seats works out to exactly $84 a seat for the season — below that price, or below that headcount, the pitch still comes up short.