A winning soccer season isn’t just about scoring goals and clutch saves — it’s also about ensuring your team has the resources to succeed. From new uniforms and tournament fees to travel expenses, soccer fundraising ideas play a key role in a strong season.
With some creativity and teamwork, fundraising can be as exciting as game day — especially when it’s easy to manage. Cheddar Up simplifies the process by handling payments, tracking donations, and keeping everything organized so you can focus on reaching your goal. Here are 10 soccer fundraising ideas to help your team score big on and off the field!
Top 10 Soccer Fundraising Ideas
The Ultimate Penalty Kick Showdown
Picture this: fans cheering, the ball set on the penalty spot, and players lining up to prove their skills — all for a great cause. A penalty kick challenge is a simple yet high-energy fundraiser engaging players and the community.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Charge an Entry Fee – Set a flat fee for participants or offer tiered pricing (e.g., $10 for 5 kicks, $15 for 10 kicks).
- Add a Pledge Component – Players can collect pledges for every goal they score (e.g., $5 per goal).
- Feature a Special Guest Goalie – Invite a coach, principal, or local celebrity to defend the goal, making it more challenging and entertaining.
Set up an online registration and payment page so participants can sign up in advance. This streamlines event-day check-in, eliminates cash handling, and makes it easy to track participation.
Fan Gear
Every soccer fan loves repping their team, and selling custom gear is an impactful and low-effort way to raise funds while building team spirit. The key to this soccer fundraising idea? Offer unique, high-quality items that fans want — making them easy to purchase.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Think beyond the basics and include:
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- Personalized jerseys with players’ names and numbers
- Limited-edition scarves for die-hard supporters
- Custom water bottles for game-day hydration
- Hats, hoodies, or socks in team colors
- Car decals and window clings to show team pride everywhere
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- Sell Pre-Orders Online – Avoid upfront costs and excess inventory by taking pre-orders through an online store. This ensures that every item sold is already paid for, maximizing profits without the risk of leftovers.
- Set Up a Pop-Up Shop at Games – With a point-of-sale system, you can bring the merchandise directly to your supporters for home games, tournaments, or community events.
Juggle-a-Thon
How long can your players keep the ball in the air? A Juggle-a-Thon is one of the soccer fundraising ideas that challenges team members, engages supporters, and raises money — all at the same time.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Set the Rules – Decide on the event format. Will soccer players juggle individually or as a team? Will there be different age groups? Setting clear guidelines makes participation easier.
- Create Fun Challenges and Incentives – Keep the excitement high by offering prizes for categories like most consecutive juggles, most creative juggling tricks, and the player who raises the most donations.
- Turn It Into an Annual Tradition – Make the Juggle-a-Thon a yearly event, challenging players to break last year’s record and build fundraising momentum. To switch it up, you could try a kick-a-thon the following year.
The World Cup Mini-Tournament
Bring the excitement of the World Cup to your community members with a fast-paced, small-sided tournament where teams represent different countries. A 3v3 or 5v5 format makes organizing easy while keeping the action intense and engaging.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Charge an Entry Fee – Set a per-team registration fee and offer early bird discounts to encourage sign-ups. Consider adding different divisions (youth, adult, co-ed, family teams) to widen participation.
- Encourage Local Teams and Clubs to Join – Reach out to schools, recreational leagues, and local businesses to field teams and get community involvement.
- Sell Themed Jerseys or Flags – Offer small flags, headbands, or jerseys featuring the countries in the tournament for sale. Fans love showing support, which adds to the World Cup atmosphere.
Coaches vs. Players Match
Nothing quite fires up a team like the chance to take down their coaches in a friendly, but competitive match! A Coaches vs. Players game is a fun team-bonding fundraising event that can bring significant donations while entertaining the entire community.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Charge Admission for Spectators – Sell tickets for fans, family members, and students to attend. Offer a VIP seating option with the best views or front-row seats.
- Add Hilarious Game Modifications – Let spectators pay to alter the game in ways that make it even more entertaining:
- “Freeze the Coach” penalties – Fans can donate to force a coach to play with one hand behind their back for five minutes.
- “Power Play” add-ons – Pay to substitute an extra player briefly onto the field, giving one side an advantage.
- “Reverse Roles” twist – A donation makes the head coach play in goal, no matter their skill level.
- Host a Post-Match Celebration – After the game, sell tickets to a pizza party or BBQ, where players and coaches can laugh about the match and fans can mingle with the team.
Online Donation Drive
Not all soccer fundraising ideas require planning a big event. A simple online donation drive can be just as effective — especially when you make it easy for supporters to give.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Set Up an Online Fundraising Page – Make donating easy by creating a simple, shareable donation page where supporters can contribute with just a few clicks.
- Use Social Media to Create Urgency – Share your collection’s QR code on social media and post daily progress updates, donation shoutouts, and fun video challenges to keep momentum going.
- Offer Milestone Rewards – Set small, achievable fundraising goals and attach fun challenges or team-wide rewards to each one (e.g., “If we reach $500, the whole team does a TikTok dance!”).
Game Day Snack Stand
Ditch the store-bought candy bars — fans want fresh, game-day snacks that energize them while cheering on the team.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Create a “Pay-It-Forward” Option – Let fans buy an extra snack for a player or coach as a donation.
- Offer Team-Branded Reusable Cups – Sell drinks in team-logo cups that fans can reuse for discounted refills all season.
- Run a Halftime Raffle with Snack Purchases – Every snack purchase earns a raffle ticket for a prize announced at halftime.
Glow-in-the-Dark Night Game
Turn an ordinary scrimmage into a successful fundraiser by hosting a glow-in-the-dark soccer game!
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Sell Glow-in-the-Dark Gear – Stock up on LED soccer balls, glow bracelets, necklaces, neon jerseys, and face paint for players and fans. Offer glow packs for sale at check-in.
- Add a Glow-Themed Halftime Event – Host a glow penalty shootout, crossbar challenge, or trick shot contest where participants pay to enter and compete for a prize.
- Secure a Sponsor for Extra Visibility – A local business could cover the cost of glow gear in exchange for branding on event signage or promotional materials.
Fantasy Soccer League Fundraiser
Keep fans engaged all season long by running a fantasy soccer league featuring players from your team. Supporters draft players, track their real-game performance, and compete for prizes.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Offer Weekly Challenges and Mini-Prizes – Increase excitement by awarding small prizes for “Player of the Week” performances or highest-scoring teams each round.
- Host a Draft Party or Season Finale Event – Charge admission for a kickoff event where participants draft their teams or a watch party for the final match, complete with food sales and raffles.
- Encourage Social Sharing – Have players post their fantasy rankings on social media, linking to a donation page for extra contributions.
Ultimate Soccer Obstacle Course
Set up an exciting obstacle course with stations challenging speed, accuracy, and agility. Players compete individually or in teams, racing against the clock for the best time.
How to Maximize Fundraising:
- Let Fans Get in on the Action – Offer a separate course for younger siblings, parents, or non-players so everyone can participate for a small fee.
- Create a “Beat the Coach” Challenge – Have coaches set a course time or score to beat, and let players donate for a chance to take them on.
- Add a Team Relay Option – Charge a team entry fee for groups that want to compete in a relay-style challenge, increasing participation.
With these soccer fundraising ideas, your team can raise money while keeping players and fans engaged.
Before you go
Whatever soccer fundraising idea you choose, the key to success is making participation easy and fun. With Cheddar Up, you can effortlessly collect payments, track registrations, and manage donations all in one place.
