Which governing body do we join, and what does it cost?

1. The comparison

2. Who you contact first

• Rugby union: the county Constituent Body, not Twickenham. You join as a non-voting member and earn a vote after a season paid up, twelve adult XV matches or league play, and accounts filed with the county. Subscriptions fall due September to December.
• Rugby league: the regional league you want to play in (Yorkshire, North West, Cumbria, Southern conferences and the leagues beneath them). Then the club and its key people register on GameDay each season, and every player joins Our League Active.
• Hockey: your Area: East, London, Midlands, North West, South Central, South East, West, or Yorkshire & North East. Areas run every adult league below national level and all junior competition.
• Netball: your regional association (nine in England) or county association. The club registers on ENgage and each member links to it when they buy membership; the club no longer affiliates its members.
• Basketball: your Regional Management Committee, then the local league or association you will play in (about 69 of them).
• Water polo: your Swim England region. Most water polo in England is a section of a swimming club; if you are one, the parent club affiliates and you are a section of it.
• Cricket: your county cricket board, increasingly branded as a Cricket Foundation. Wales is one of the 39.

3. Conditions you will have to meet

Every body asks for a constitution, a committee, a bank account and a welfare officer. On top of that:

• Rugby union: a Club Safeguarding Officer, a RugbySafe Lead, Level 3 first aiders with the Headcase concussion module, a first-aid risk assessment lodged with the RFU and Howden, a medical emergency action plan, an AED, and a Match Card Administrator. The eighteen-question safeguarding audit is mandatory for any club with age grade.
• Hockey: open membership, a dissolution clause, an elected committee of three unrelated people, a Discipline Officer, independently reviewed accounts and approved insurance.
• Netball: a safeguarding policy submitted to leagues; enhanced DBS every three years, and from 1 September 2026 for every coach and volunteer.
• Basketball: Level 1 accreditation (constitution, three-person committee, bank account, Club Welfare Officer, adopt Basketball England policies, publish safeguarding policies) is mandatory to enter Junior NBL.
• Rugby league: a Club Welfare Officer with enhanced DBS and two safeguarding courses; a First Aider per match with HSE emergency first aid; Level 1 coaches for U6–11 and Level 2 from U12.
• Water polo: annual Club Affiliation needs an EDI plan, the 2022 model constitution, a Welfare Officer Wavepower statement, a Chair’s code-of-ethics statement, risk assessments and an OMS personnel report with DBS status.
• Cricket: the ECB’s eight Conditions of Affiliation, including adopting the anti-discrimination code and Safe Hands and registering on the Safe Hands Management System. Clubmark ended in 2025; leagues now ask for ECB Accredited Club Status.

4. When the year starts

This trips up every new treasurer.

• Rugby union, hockey, netball and rugby league: 1 September to 31 August, matching the school year.
• Basketball: club affiliation due 1 September; individual licences run twelve months from registration, not a fixed year.
• Cricket: affiliation year 1 October to 30 September, renewed by early March, while the playing season is April to September.
• Water polo: 1 January to 31 December, pay by 28 February, half price from 1 October.

5. Accreditation marks

Each body has a quality mark that leagues increasingly require and that funders look for: RFU Accreditation (six criteria, annual self-review, confers Clubmark for minis and juniors); England Hockey ClubMark; England Netball CAPS (Bronze, Silver, Gold, with re-accreditation grants of £100–200); Basketball England Level 1 and above; RFL Club Accreditation; Swim England Club Affiliation (which replaced SwimMark); ECB Accredited Club Status. None is required in year one. All are worth planning for in year two, because the paperwork is the same paperwork you needed to affiliate.

6. Scotland and Wales

Different bodies, same shape. Rugby union: the WRU (about 300 clubs) and Scottish Rugby. Hockey: Hockey Wales and Scottish Hockey, both on Sport80. Netball: Wales Netball (£6 to £40 individual) and Netball Scotland. Basketball: Basketball Wales, mostly on LeagueRepublic. Cricket: Cricket Wales is inside the ECB structure; Cricket Scotland moved registration to PlayHQ in 2026. Water polo: Swim Wales and Scottish Swimming. Rugby league: Wales Rugby League and Scotland Rugby League.