Should we go official or independent first?

Start meeting first. Every official programme we read is easier to satisfy with a group that already exists: a regular venue, a few members, a social account with some history. Apply once you have shown up for a month of matches, and use the per-club guides for what each club asks for.

How many people do we need?

It depends on the club. Manchester United asks for 10 members who are Official Members or Season Ticket Holders, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur set a minimum of 15, an American Outlaws chapter needs 35 paid members, and Liverpool's guidelines ask for 50 branch members of whom at least 15 hold Official Membership. Manchester City's form asks how many potential members you have and the club confirms the threshold; Arsenal America publishes no headcount. Each figure is linked in the club's own guide, and each can change.

Does it cost anything?

Tottenham Hotspur charges £50 a year per club. Chelsea charges nothing to create a club but a one-off £125 if the club later applies to become a ticketing club. American Outlaws membership is $30 a year per person, with $5 of it going to the local chapter. Manchester City says its branches charge members a small seasonal fee, and several clubs count paid club memberships toward their thresholds. Where a club does not publish a fee, ask before you budget.

Yes. Arsenal America requires a secured public meeting space that regularly shows matches, American Outlaws requires a home base for every game, and the other programmes describe a local meeting place as the point of a club. A living room works for four friends, not for the fan who found you on a search.

Does SoccerMapd charge to list a chapter?

No. The chapter page, the matchday schedule and the where-to-watch placement are free, and there is no paid tier.

For supporters clubs

How to start a supporters club in your city: the pattern every club follows

Official chapter or independent group, the bar deal, the first ten members, and what matchday looks like once it works. With links to what each club actually requires.

8 min readPublished September 5, 2026By the SoccerMapd team

A supporters club is a group of fans of one team who meet at one bar for every match. That is the whole definition, and it is the reason a fan who just moved to your city can find people to watch with on the first weekend. Every club runs its recognition programme a little differently, and the per-club guides linked below cover what each one actually requires. This page is the part that is the same everywhere: the choice between official and independent, the deal with the bar, the first ten members, and what matchday looks like once it works.

Official or independent

An official chapter is recognized by the parent club or by its national supporters body. Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Manchester City each run a programme from the club itself; Arsenal fans in the US go through Arsenal America; national team fans go through American Outlaws; Celtic clubs register with the club and list with a North American federation; MLS and USL groups are recognized club by club. Recognition usually brings a listing on the club’s site, a badge or flag, and a route to tickets. It also brings requirements: a headcount, sometimes a fee, sometimes club memberships for the people you count, and a code of conduct that covers your social accounts.

An independent group is fans at a bar with a name and an Instagram account. Nothing stops you from starting one this Saturday, and most official chapters began that way. The programmes we read are easier to satisfy with a group that already meets, so the order is usually: meet, then apply.

The deal with the bar

The pub is the club. Every programme we read expects a regular public venue, and two of them, Arsenal America and American Outlaws, will not consider a group without one. What you ask for is small and specific:

Every match on a screen with the sound up, including the 7:30 am kickoffs and the midweek cup ties.
Doors open before an early kickoff, even if the kitchen is not.
A corner or a set of tables that is yours on matchday, so a newcomer can find the group by looking.
One person at the bar who you can text when a kickoff time moves.
Permission to hang a flag or leave a scarf where the camera can see it.

What you offer is also specific: a predictable crowd on mornings the bar would otherwise be empty, a schedule posted in public with the bar’s name on it, and a tag in every matchday photo. Do not promise numbers you have not seen. A bar that has hosted you for a month knows what you bring; a bar you are pitching does not, and will remember if you oversell.

The first ten members

Ten people who show up is a chapter. Ten thousand followers who do not is a broadcast. Places to find the ten:

The bar’s own regulars. Someone is already watching your team there. Ask the bartender who.
The club’s national body. Arsenal America, Chelsea in America, American Outlaws and the club directories all list who is near you and who has asked.
Shirts in the wild. A stranger in the away kit at the grocery store is a member who has not been asked yet.
The where-to-watch page. SoccerMapd’s where-to-watch pages list, for each team and metro, the chapters that meet there and the bars that show the team. If your city has no chapter for your team, that page is where the fans who searched for one end up.
The other chapters in town. A Liverpool branch and an Everton group share a bar more often than you would think, and they know who has asked about your team.

Running matchday

1
One person is responsible
Not the group chat. One named person confirms the screen the day before, arrives thirty minutes early and is the face a newcomer talks to.
2
Post the plan the night before and the morning of
Kickoff in local time, doors-open time, the bar's name and address, and any change of room. Same format every time, so people stop asking.
3
Mark the table
A scarf, a flag, a printed crest. The fan who walks in alone should know where to sit without asking.
4
Welcome the person who came alone
They found you on a search. Say hello, ask their name, tell them when the next match is. That is the entire recruitment plan, and it works.
5
Post the next match before you leave
The best time to announce Wednesday's cup tie is while Saturday's crowd is still in the room.

What each club requires

Each guide below records what the club publishes today, with a link to the page it came from, and says plainly where a club publishes nothing. Headcounts run from ten to fifty members, fees from nothing to a fixed annual fee, and several clubs count paid club memberships rather than people.

Liverpool: Official LFC Supporters Clubs, Red and Gold Level
Arsenal: Arsenal America branches and the club's own route
Chelsea: Official Chelsea Supporters Clubs and Chelsea in America
Tottenham Hotspur: Official Supporters' Clubs, 15 members, £50 a year and the form
Manchester United: Manchester United Supporters' Clubs, MUSC
Manchester City: Official Supporters Club branches
Celtic: Celtic Supporters' Clubs and the North American Federation
USMNT: American Outlaws chapters
MLS and USL clubs: Independent supporters groups and how clubs recognize them

List the chapter on SoccerMapd

Every chapter on SoccerMapd has a page in the supporters club directory, appears on the where-to-watch page for its team and metro next to the week’s fixtures, and is linked from the team it supports. Listing takes a few minutes and no account. Once listed, ask for the schedule console link and tick the matches you are showing; the supporters club guide covers the rest of what the site does for a chapter.

Browse the chapters already listed

Put the chapter where new fans are looking.

List the bar, the matchday routine and your socials. It is free, there is nothing to upgrade to, and it is the page a search finds.

List your chapter See fans by city

Questions

Should we go official or independent first?: Start meeting first. Every official programme we read is easier to satisfy with a group that already exists: a regular venue, a few members, a social account with some history. Apply once you have shown up for a month of matches, and use the per-club guides for what each club asks for.
How many people do we need?: It depends on the club. Manchester United asks for 10 members who are Official Members or Season Ticket Holders, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur set a minimum of 15, an American Outlaws chapter needs 35 paid members, and Liverpool's guidelines ask for 50 branch members of whom at least 15 hold Official Membership. Manchester City's form asks how many potential members you have and the club confirms the threshold; Arsenal America publishes no headcount. Each figure is linked in the club's own guide, and each can change.
Does it cost anything?: Tottenham Hotspur charges £50 a year per club. Chelsea charges nothing to create a club but a one-off £125 if the club later applies to become a ticketing club. American Outlaws membership is $30 a year per person, with $5 of it going to the local chapter. Manchester City says its branches charge members a small seasonal fee, and several clubs count paid club memberships toward their thresholds. Where a club does not publish a fee, ask before you budget.
Do we need a bar?: Yes. Arsenal America requires a secured public meeting space that regularly shows matches, American Outlaws requires a home base for every game, and the other programmes describe a local meeting place as the point of a club. A living room works for four friends, not for the fan who found you on a search.
Does SoccerMapd charge to list a chapter?: No. The chapter page, the matchday schedule and the where-to-watch placement are free, and there is no paid tier.