Youth sport buying runs on a season, and it has three moments: registration, when families collect kit; the season itself, when things get lost and replaced; and the end-of-season presentation, which every club under-budgets for and then scrambles to cover.

Bottles and bags get lost constantly

A club-branded water bottle is the single most useful thing you can hand a young player, and it is also the item most likely to be left at a pitch. Order more than the squad count. The same applies to drawstring bags — they are cheap, they get used every session, and they advertise the club at every away fixture.

Every player gets something at the end

Presentation night runs on the principle that no child leaves empty-handed. That means a medal or a small award per player, plus something for the coaches, who are volunteers and are usually thanked as an afterthought. Budget it at registration rather than in the last fortnight.

Sponsors pay for the kit

Local businesses fund most grassroots clubs and they expect their name on something visible. Sort out how many sponsors need to appear, and where, before choosing the garment or the bag — retrofitting four logos onto an item chosen for one is where these orders go wrong.