Become a member

Frequently asked questions on Membership and PlayHQ answered

This page features information for:

  • Clubs and club admins
  • Local leagues and central venue leagues
  • Members and players

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Clubs and Club Admins

What are the benefits of using PlayHQ for my club?

The PlayHQ platform will allow your club to:

  • Manage your Basketball England and league memberships 
  • Manage your club memberships 
  • View all your players’ registration details and teams 
  • Manage your fixtures 
  • Use digital live scoring of your games 
  • Have your teams' fixtures, scores and stats visible on BE's new free App and the website
  • Take feeds of your fixtures and league tables to your own website 
  • Ensure robust Safeguarding protocols 
  • Automate fines, suspensions and other admin 
  • Run club activities such as programmes, camps, CVLs

What does PlayHQ access cost for clubs?

It is included in the affiliation to Basketball England, with no additional cost to your club to access the system.

For details of how to affiliate your club, click HERE ****LINK

Should your club wish to utilise PlayHQ to take payment of your own club membership fees, the payment processing fee is 1.8% for all transactions.

Will NBL team entry be through PlayHQ?

Yes. Following the success of using PlayHQ for the 2025/26 seasons, team entries for NBL will be managed through PlayHQ, so there will be some differences in the processes previously used.

Each season, clubs that have previously entered or made Basketball England aware of their interest to enter the NBL and have met eligibility criteria will receive an email inviting them to enter teams into the NBL season in mid-May.

Can I manage club membership through PlayHQ and take club fees?

Yes. Clubs will be able to manage and take payments for club membership through PlayHQ.

PlayHQ has the option for clubs to collect both their Basketball England membership and club membership in the same transaction, with the system splitting the payouts between the different organisations. 

The system also has the ability to take membership fees in instalments, giving your members the option to pay for their membership in four payments through PayPal’ Pay in Four interest free option, which delivers the full amount to the recipient organisation and the member pays the outstanding balance to PayPal under their T&Cs .

Currently PlayHQ doesn’t have the facility to split annual club membership further at this time, but we expect the option to have monthly payment options in place by the start of the 2026/27 season.

All transactions in PlayHQ incur a 1.8% transaction fee for clubs which is significantly lower than many platforms currently used by clubs to collect fees.

How to do it

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • Your organisation's contact details
  • Your organisation's financial details including bank account details,
  • Proof of business registration
  • If registered as a business
  • business registration number - 

If you do not have a business registration number please enter 0000

  • Please ensure where ever possible your bank account name matches your bank statement and name listed on official documents

Unregistered: Obtain one of the following plus a bank statement in entity name

      • Articles of Association/Memorandum
      • Constitution
      • Government issued tax exemption document
  • If none of the above requirements can be provided by the business, they must identify as Individual or Sole Trader.
  • Supporting documents of your business registration - Please note whilst you may not be explicitly asked for these documents we recommend upload to ensure quick verification
      • Bank statement with business name that matches your the account name entered
      • Business License
      • Certificate of Registration
      • Incorporation, Constitution or Rules
      • Articles of Association
      • Charity Registration Document
      • Partnership Agreement
      • Trust Deed
  • List of directors (this will be your key committee members or owners if private business)

You will need proof of identity for one of these members

      • Licence OR;
      • Passport OR;
      • National identity card
      • Letter of Authorisation - Download here.  

IMPORTANT: All business names and details MUST match exactly what appears on your bank account and official documents.

If you have all this, follow the simple guide in the below link and you will be set-up to start receiving payments as soon as PayPal approve your registration.

 

https://support.playhq.com/hc/en-au/articles/49465275125785-Enable-online-payments-and-updating-bank-details-UK

Will clubs be able to bulk register/pay for members via PlayHQ?

Historically, clubs have been able to pay the registration fees of their members, however through PlayHQ individuals will be required to register and purchase their own membership.

We are aware that some clubs include the Basketball England membership fee within club membership and transfer this to us.

PlayHQ has the option for clubs to collect both their Basketball England membership and club membership in the same transaction, with the system splitting the payouts between the different organisations. 

The system also has the ability to take membership fees in installments, giving your members the option to pay for their membership in four payments. All transactions in PlayHQ incur a 1.8% transaction fee for clubs.

Details of how to do this will be covered in our PlayHQ training and onboarding sessions. 

Can clubs run CVLs and competitions through PlayHQ?

Yes, and at no additional cost, provided all the players competing are participant members of Basketball England next season. Clubs can also run your social basketball competitions and other programmes through the platform. 

Can my local league of regional competition run their league of cup competition through PlayHQ

Yes, if they are affiliated then using PlayHQ to run all competitions comes at no extra cost.

Unaffiliated leagues can affiliate with Basketball England ahead of next season and get access to the platform and a host of other benefits. 

See further FAQs on this page for more on the benefits PlayHQ can bring, as well as other benefits of affiliating with Basketball England.

How can I/my club get access to PlayHQ?

Before someone from your club can get access, someone must attend a PlayHQ training session. After attendance, the attendee will be granted access and they can then add other club admins as required.

What training is available on PlayHQ?

Basketball England and PlayHQ have run a a series of online training sessions for clubs. Please click on the link below for upcoming sessions and availability.

Book a session

Does PlayHQ offer translations for non-English speakers?

If using browsers such as Chrome or Safari, the inbuilt translation functions of these browsers, allow translations into hundreds of languages. 

Local leagues and central venue leagues (CVLs)

What are the benefits of using PlayHQ for my league or competition?

The PlayHQ platform will allow your league or competition to:

  • Ensure all participants have the correct membership to the clubs involved and Basketball England, all through one system
  • Ensure all coaches, officials and team managers have valid DBS checks and have completed relevant Basketball England safeguarding courses and qualifications to perform their role
  • Ensure all coaches and officials have the correct qualifications to perform their role
  • Manage your club and team entry process
  • View all teams' and players’ registration details and teams
  • Manage your fixtures
  • Use digital live scoring of your games
  • Have your teams' fixtures, scores and stats visible on BE's new free App and the website
  • Take feeds of your fixtures and league tables to your own website
  • Automate fines, suspensions and other admin
  • Run separate activities such as programmes, camps, etc
  • Streamlined Processes through reduced need to do manual document checking or back-and-forth emails
  • Real-Time Verification and instant confirmation of eligibility status
  • Approved DBS and qualification checks carry forward to subsequent seasons until they expire

By design, the system provides a management and reporting suite designed to take away a lot of manual processes, reduce costs and provide reporting and insight to help manage your league or competition.

What does access to the PlayHQ system cost for local leagues?

It is included in the affiliation to Basketball England, with no additional cost to access the system. For details of how to affiliate your league, please click HERE

Can leagues manage their team entry process through PlayHQ?

Yes, PlayHQ entry process is used for National League entries and the same process can be used by local leagues and other competitions across the country.

When is 2025/26 membership registration due to start?

Membership opened in July. There is more information for local league registration HERE.

We are a club that runs a CVL. Do we have to affiliate as a club and a league?

If a club is affiliated with Basketball England, the use of PlayHQ to run CVL competitions is allowed as part of your club affiliation, provided all players that register to your CVL are participant members of Basketball England.

How do I get access to PlayHQ?

Before someone from your league can get access, someone must attend a PlayHQ training session. After attendance, the attendee will be granted access and they can then invite clubs to participate as required.

Members and players

What are the benefits of membership?

Below is a list of benefits for 2025/26, alongside dates from when these benefits will be available:

  • Licence to participate in competitions for 2025/26
  • Basketball England registered members benefit from our insurance coverage through Howden, with participants having accident cover and coaches and officials also benefiting from public liability and professional indemnity cover
  • https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/basketball-england/participants
  • https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/basketball-england/coaches-officials
  • Access to discounts on basketball and sports merchandise and hundreds of other selected brands and retailers – coming September 2025*
  • 10% discount through the Basketball England shop – coming September 2025*
  • Discounts on coaching and officiating courses
  • Access to live scoring, team stats, individual player scoring stats and fixturing/results in one place via the Basketball England App – coming September 2025*

*These benefits will be available upon the launch of our new systems over the course of summer of 2025.

How much is membership?

For 2025/26, the membership prices are:

Participant membership (for local leagues, BUCS, and other regional/local competitions)

  • Player - Adult £32, U18 £20
  • Referee, Table Official and Statistician - Adult £32, U18 £20
  • Coach and Bench Personnel - Adult £32, U18 £20

Performance membership (for NBL, WNBL and Jnr. NBL competitions)

  • Player - Adult £75, U18 £40
  • Referee, Table Official and Statistician - Adult £32, U18 £20
  • Coach and Bench Personnel - Adult £40

Why is there a service fee?

The service fee is the cost to process your payment and service charge of the system.

This doesn’t affect what your membership costs, as the final total at checkout is the published cost of your membership.

What type of photo should I add to my profile?

This needs to be a 'passport style' headshot photo that officials can use on matchdays to ensure players on court match a team sheet.

What is the new Team Manager role?

Team management access within PlayHQ allows participants to select line-ups and enter scores on games within My Teams .

This membership is for team managers only who need access to information on the players in their team only.

What are the 'non-national' fees?

For Basketball England, non-national player fees for the NBL (National Basketball League) are structured based on whether the player is considered a Type 1 or Type 2 non-national, and their age (Under 21 or 21+).

Type 1 non-national players pay a higher fee than Type 2.

Here's a breakdown of the non-national fees for the 2025/26 season:

  • Non-National Type 1: £525.00 for 21+ players in all NBL divisions.
  • Non-National Type 2: £160.00 for 21+ players in all NBL divisions.
  • Non-National: £75.00 for players aged 18-21 in all NBL divisions.

As a member, do I get insurance?

Basketball England registered members benefit from our insurance coverage through Howden, with participants having accident cover and coaches and officials also benefiting from public liability and professional indemnity cover

  • Participants' cover HERE
  • Coaches' and officials' cover HERE

When is 2025/26 membership registration due to start? What is new?

Players, coaches, officials and all other members opened via PlayHQ on 14 July for the 2025/26 season.

An important difference in process this year is clubs must generate a registration link and distribute this to players and coaches to join. Officials can join through links on the following pages, with various links set up for different regions and competitions.

Find out more HERE.

Where are the membership terms & conditions?

Terms and conditions of membership can be found HERE.

I’m a volunteer for my club who doesn’t coach, play or officiate, how do I sign up?

Through the same process as players, you can register to your club. Simply select volunteer when presented with options in the sign-up process.

Does PlayHQ offer translations for non-English speakers?

If using browsers such as Chrome or Safari, the inbuilt translation functions of these browsers, allow translations into hundreds of languages. 

I’m a coach and player (or other combination) who requires multiple licences. Can I purchase these in one go?

You will need to sign up for each role separately, although the system will remember your main details and pre-populate these so secondary sign-up will be much quicker for additional roles.

You will only pay for the most expensive membership/licence required. We recommend purchasing the most expensive first, then all others can be added at no cost, rather than having to pay the difference when a more expensive one is added.

I require multiple licences. Can I register these in one go?

You will need to sign up for each role separately, although the system will remember your main details and pre-populate these so secondary sign-up will be much quicker for additional roles.

You will only pay for the most expensive membership/licence required. We recommend purchasing the most expensive first, then all others can be added at no cost, rather than having to pay the difference when a more expensive one is added.

How do I make my profile private if I don’t want others to see the team I play for or my performance stats to be available on Basketball England’s website or App?

All profiles that have been migrated to PlayHQ from our previous platform are private until claimed. When you first register in the new system, you will be offered the option to make your profile public or private.

A private profile is still visible to Basketball England, your club and any competitions you participate in, but will be hidden from any public facing websites or our App.

Where is my licence card?

Licence cards are in development. Once your registration is complete, you'll access your digital membership card through Basketball England's new mobile app, which launches in early September.

Once you download the App you will be able to:

  • Access your membership card for each role you're registered for
  • View pending, active and expired registrations

What is rolling membership?

Going forward, you membership will start from the date you join Basketball England.

Your membership is now valid for 12 months from your registration date, If you register before the season starts, you'll receive a grace period until the season begins, ensuring full value and coverage for pre-season activities.

This means if you join a club part way or towards the end of a season, you will still get a full year of benefits.

When you register for a competition for future seasons, if your remaining membership doesn’t cover the entirety of the competition length, you will be asked to pay for the future membership to cover the entirety that competition before it starts. All Basketball England memberships last for 12 months and we do not offer pro-rata memberships or short term memberships to cover half or part of a season.

My league isn’t affiliate with Basketball England. Can I still join as a member?

Absolutely, we have a guide to registering for local leagues as the link and process can vary. Learn more HERE.

The information on my profile when I claim it isn’t correct?

Please contact our membership services team who will be able to check details of your membership. Email [email protected]

My qualifications aren’t showing on my profile?

Please contact our membership services team who will be able to check details of your membership and qualification history. Email [email protected]

I can’t claim my profile as I don’t have access to the email address I set up my previous account with

In this scenario, please email [email protected] stating your name, the previous email address you no longer have access to, as well as the name of the club you were last registered to.

Our team will then be able to resolve this issue manually for you.

Why are there so many safeguarding questions?

These questions were previously asked through separate SG1 and SG2 forms that were downloaded and required completion on a paper form.

We hope the new way of competing these is much easier.

Who can view my answers to the Safeguarding questions?

The questions pertaining to you agreeing to our safeguarding policies and answers are visible to Basketball England, leagues and competitions you participate in and your club.

Only Basketball England staff can view your answers to the below Safeguarding question:

  • Have you ever been known to any Children’s Services department or Police as being a risk or potential risk to children or vulnerable adults?
  • Have you been the subject of any disciplinary investigation and/or sanction by any organisation due to concerns about your behaviour towards children or vulnerable adults? This includes being subject to any Basketball England investigations.
  • Have you ever been convicted or apprehended under the following offences which are not eligible for DBS filtering such as: Offences involving violence / Safeguarding offences / Sexual offences / Drugs offences that involve supply 

Why am I asked about my religion when registering?

In order for us to monitor diversity and representation in our sport we ask some questions that are anonymized for statistical and reporting purposes. We share these reports and statistics with Sport England and publish some statistics publicly.

The answers you provide are anonymized for reporting purposes. The insight generated from your answers is used to help us continue to make Basketball an inclusive and accessible sport.

Why am I asked about my sexuality when registering?

In order for us to monitor diversity and representation in our sport we ask some questions that are anonymized for statistical and reporting purposes. We share these reports and statistics with Sport England and publish some statistics publicly.

The answers you provide are anonymised for reporting purposes. The insight generated from your answers is used to help us continue to make Basketball an inclusive and accessible sport.

Why am I asked questions what ethnic group do I belong to when registering?

In order for us to monitor diversity and representation in our sport we ask some questions that are anonymized for statistical and reporting purposes. We share these reports and statistics with Sport England and publish some statistics publicly.

The answers you provide are anonymised for reporting purposes. The insight generated from your answers is used to help us continue to make Basketball an inclusive and accessible sport.

How do I apply for a letter of clearance (LOC)?

This process is managed by the British Basketball Federation. More information will be found HERE.

What happened to my 'A' number?

Whilst not obsolete, we will use these less and less going forward. Your licence card will contain enough information on you to make you identifiable as licenced and our integrated systems will in time remove the need to use your 'A' number to login or complete activities.

How do I submit my passport or visa to Basketball England is required for eligibility purposes?

Please submit this via the Contact Us page ****LINK on our website, which is secured and preferred over an email submission.

In the drop down on the form, select 'membership' as the enquiry and attach the required files to the form before submission. Please include your name as it appears on your membership registration.

How will officials view licence cards?

We are close to finalising this part of the system ahead of the new season.

Through the game day area of the system, officials will be able to access licence cards for games they are allocated to.

I’m an assistant coach, do I register as bench personnel?

If you previously registered as bench personnel to perform an assistant coach role, please register as a coach going forward.

Our new system offers different game day functionality and processes only available to coaches in when it comes to selecting teams, so please select that you are a coach when registering.

What is multi-factor authentication?

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security to your PlayHQ administrator account, better protecting the personal information of participants across PlayHQ. It’s also referred to as ‘two-factor authentication’ or ‘2FA’.

With MFA enabled, you'll need two things to access your account:

  • Your password
  • A verification code from your mobile device (via SMS or an Authenticator App)

Basketball England and PlayHQ have enabled this added layer of security to help prevent unauthorised access even if a password is stolen or compromised.

 

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