FIVE-A-SIDE soccer centres need to ‘up their game’ to compete in a tougher market, Paisley-based operator Powerleague said yesterday as it announced a £40 million expansion programme.

“There’s far more competition for customers’ time and money and the small-sided game needs to up its game to keep attracting them in,” said chief executive Rupert Campbell, who joined the business last year from Adidas.

He was speaking as East Kilbride-based rival, Goals Soccer Centres, said it was making good progress with a review of the business and a steep fall in sales during last year’s second half had slowed.

“Our near-term operational improvement plan, which is solely focused on overall performance of the company, is being implemented and we are encouraged by the early signs,” Goals chairman Nick Basing said.

The sector is under pressure in the UK from the growth of subsidised pitches run by local authorities. Goals, which has 46 centres in the UK and one in California, said at its annual results in March that it would no longer be developing centres in the UK and was focusing on the US instead.

Powerleague, the UK’s largest five-a-side game operator with 47 centres, said the opening of 13 new UK centres over the next three years would boost its presence in the south-east of England. Goals already has 16 centres in the south east out of 43 across England.

“Since the introduction of five-a-side centres in the UK back in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, players have changed but the industry hasn’t,” Mr Campbell continued.

“And if younger players play now, they are more likely to still be participating in the sport in later years, so change is essential for the future of the game. I want Powerleague to lead the way in providing the best facilities, brilliant digital innovation and a top playing experience for our customers.”

Under a programme billed ‘Next Generation’, Powerleague said its new centres, this first of which has opened in Sunbury, West London, would all feature latest technology including top-of-the-range ‘5G’ artificial turf and a camera system that allows players to capture key moments for sharing on social media. The company is owned by London-based private equity firm Patron Capital and has Lucozade as its headline sponsor. It employs 106 of its 600 staff in Scotland, where it has six centres in Glasgow, Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Paisley and Sighthill and Portobello in Edinburgh. Powerleague also has two centres in Dublin and Amsterdam.

Goals Soccer Centres said sales during the first 18 weeks of 2016 were ‘marginally negative’, but that good progress was being made with six short-term priorities, including the recruitment of a chief executive and non-executive directors.

“We have concluded the search for a high quality CEO,” added Mr Basing. “Our expectation is that we will be able to announce details imminently.”

Scott Anthony Lloyd, 41, and Christopher Mills, 63, have joined the board as non-executive directors with immediate effect.

Mr Lloyd founded the Next Generation fitness clubs chain in 1997 and went on to merge it with David Lloyd Leisure after leading the management buyout of that business from Whitbread.

Mr Mills co-founded London-based asset management firm J O Hambro Capital Management in 1993, setting up its successor, Hambro Capital Management, in 2011. He holds a number of non-executive appointments.

The appointment of a 'highly capable' new senior independent non-executive director would also be announced imminently.

"The review of the company has included a wide ranging view of the market, the performance of the company in recent years and an assessment of all assets that the company operates, along with consumer insights," Mr Basing said. "We are drawing it to completion by next week and we will announce the results of this review together with the strategic plan shortly afterwards."

Goals has three centres in Scotland in Aberdeen, Glasgow South and Glasgow West.