Free in the app
Short a player? Call a ringer.
The SquadLock ringer marketplace matches your team with rated, reliable local players — by position, distance, and a reliability score earned on real matches. Because "never be short on match day" needs someone to actually call.
How the marketplace works
Step 1
Tell the app you're short
Pick the match, the positions you're missing, and how far you'd look. Or hit the Panic Button and let it use your match details.
Step 2
Nearby players get pinged
Available ringers in your area are notified instantly — filtered by position, skill rating, and a reliability score earned on real matches.
Step 3
Confirmed in minutes
A ringer accepts, joins your match roster, and gets included in the pitch-cost split automatically. Game on.
Ringer search lives in the app — free — where your match, roster and payment split already are, so a found player drops straight into all three instead of a copied-and-pasted phone number.
Built so strangers can trust each other
A marketplace that puts unknown players on the same pitch has to earn trust on both sides. These aren't promises — they're how the system is engineered.
Reliability you can see
Every ringer carries a reliability score built from matches they actually turned up to — not self-reported stats. Flaky players filter themselves out.
Nobody's exact location, ever
Search shows banded distances ("within 2 km"), never precise positions or addresses. Where you live stays private on both sides of the search.
Adults only in search
Under-18s never appear in ringer search and can't be cold-contacted — full details in our safeguarding policy.
Your country, your area
Results are strictly local: same country, tiered by your city and region, so a call-up is someone who can actually make kick-off.
Read the full safeguarding policy — or the story of what a football ringer actually is.
Play more football as a ringer
No regular team? List yourself. Set your positions, your area, and when you're free — teams near you call you up when they're short, and every match you play builds a reliability score that gets you picked first. It's the fastest way to get more games without committing to a squad.
Ringer questions, answered
What is a ringer in football?
A ringer is a stand-in player drafted to fill a gap in a team — the mate-of-a-mate who saves your 5-a-side when someone drops out. SquadLock formalises that: local players opt in, get rated on reliability, and can be called up in minutes.
How do I find a ringer near me?
Download SquadLock (free on iOS and Android), create your match, and search the marketplace or press the Panic Button. Ringer search is an in-app feature — that's where your match, roster, and payment split live, so a ringer can be dropped straight into all three.
How much does it cost to find a player?
Nothing. The ringer marketplace is a free feature of the SquadLock app — no fees for captains or for players who list themselves.
How do I become a ringer?
In the app, create a ringer profile: your positions, your area, and when you're available. You'll get notified when a nearby team is short, and every match you play builds your reliability score.
Is it safe?
Search never reveals exact locations (distances are banded), under-18s are excluded from discovery entirely, and every profile can be blocked or reported in-app with human review behind it. See squadlock.app/safeguarding for the full policy.
Your next sub is already nearby
Download SquadLock free and open the ringer marketplace — as a captain who needs one, or a player who wants more games.