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The FA Matchday app can be accessed by up to 1,389,225 grassroots players

More than a million grassroots players can now use PayPal to pay their match fees, the Football Association has confirmed.

The move is to help discourage cash and cheque transactions, as many clubs suffer late or missing payments.

An FA survey of 869 clubs found clubs miss out on millions of pounds of uncollected fees every season.

The FA Matchday app is available from today to 20,120 clubs across 92,615 teams and 1,389,225 players.

Former England footballer Lee Dixon said the new partnership between the FA and PayPal helps solve a problem that has been going on "for years".

"Things haven't really changed in decades. When I first started playing, my mum would give me a couple of pounds to pay my subs, which I'd tuck into my sock. Come full-time I'd have lost the coins and my manager would be out of pocket," the ex-Arsenal defender said.

Clubs in the Northern, Southern and Isthmian leagues, and those in the Premier Division and below qualify as 'grassroots'.

The app can also be accessed by team managers, secretaries and coaches to organise training, select line-ups and share club updates, scores and league tables.

Russell James, director of digital engagement at The FA, said: "This signals our intent to further bring grassroots football into the digital age, making the game more accessible for all. "