From the moment Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and their Manchester United teammates stepped out of their six-star Perth hotel rooms for the mega-club's highly-anticipated friendly against historic rivals Leeds, they were greeted with more luxury and glamour than most people could ever imagine.

Key points: There are no toilets or drinking water where the Baldivis Districts Football Club plays and trains

There are no toilets or drinking water where the Baldivis Districts Football Club plays and trains Despite that, the club has an ever-growing number of players wanting to join

Despite that, the club has an ever-growing number of players wanting to join Football West says 150 more soccer pitches will be needed around Perth within three years

Hot and cold spas, enormous indoor warm-up areas, state-of-the-art changerooms, a pre-game fireworks and light show, two massive screens and comfortable vantage points for tens of thousands of spectators — all within the confines of a $1.8 billion venue just named the world's most beautiful sporting facility.

But a 45-minute drive away, in the heart of Perth's soccer heartland, the picture could not be more different.

No seats, toilets or drinking water

There are no seats, nor any clubrooms. Holding a basic sausage-sizzle fundraiser is near-on impossible.

Players and spectators have no access to a bathroom, let alone a proper changeroom with showers, so any child wanting to use the toilet has to be escorted across the road.

They do not even have access to drinking water, so if anyone forgets their water bottle they are simply out of luck.

Renae Fussell says the club's player waitlist grows by the day. ( ABC News: Jacob Kagi )

It is a story that is not unique

And there is only one full-size pitch, nowhere near enough to cater for Baldivis Districts Football Club's ballooning ranks — going from just 60 players in the first year three years ago, to more than triple that now.

The facilities are attached to a local school — which keeps toilets and drink fountains off-limits for the club — and are so basic that players are already being turned away.

"We have a waitlist for next year already which grows by the day," club secretary Renae Fussell said.

"If we continue to add teams we are going to run out of room for home games, and if we haven't got the room then we cannot add them to the club."

But it is not a story that is unique either, particularly in rapidly growing suburban stretches of Perth.

"There are some particular hotspots where all clubs are bursting at the seams," said James Curtis, the chief executive officer of governing body Football West.

"Clubs are having to turn away players because there is a need for greater infrastructure."

James Curtis says women's football is being hit particularly hard by the shortage of grounds. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

Mr Curtis said soccer needed a minimum of 150 more pitches around Perth within three years to cater for growing demand, with women's football being hit particularly hard by the shortage.

"There are 190 clubs with female footballers, two-in-three don't have adequate changerooms and 70 per cent don't have adequate lighting," he said.

Similar problems plaguing other sports

But it is not just soccer feeling the pinch, with a large number of sports grappling with a shortage of facilities in Perth that is stifling growth or leading to players being lost.

And it is not just an issue in growing areas on Perth's fringes either, with hockey in the western suburbs another glaring example.

Shenton Hockey Turf only has a single artificial turf pitch, which has to be shared between three clubs — boasting more than 400 members between them — and a school.

"The effect is that people go to other clubs or the sport shrinks," former Hockeyroos and Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth said.

The club has no access to on-site drinking water or toilets. ( ABC News: Jacob Kagi )

'It's an existential issue'

Mr Charlesworth's club Westside Wolves has spent a decade actively trying to find a home of their own, but have run into insurmountable hurdles — from resident protest movements to council opposition — at every opportunity.

"For us it is an existential issue, we really need to find a solution," he said.

"We are not the only club either, YMCC, South Perth and Victoria Park have all been looking for facilities and running into the same problem."

The pressure on sporting facilities looks highly unlikely to ease anytime soon, especially if WA's population grows in line with official estimates.

The Government is planning for around 3.5 million people to be living in the Perth and Peel regions by 2050 — about 1.5 million more than the current level.

Ric Charlesworth is pleading for more to be done to help local sporting clubs. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

The days of 'just putting your hand out' are gone: Minister

Sport Minister Mick Murray conceded there was a shortage of recreation facilities around Perth, with ageing infrastructure also a problem.

He said the State Government was doing what it could through a $12-million fund for community sport facilities each year.

"We understand it is not quite enough, but unfortunately due to budget constraints we can't lift that at this moment," Mr Murray said.

"I think we can manage along the way, especially with help from local governments, and also these sporting communities understanding that the day of just putting your hand out and saying 'I want', is gone.

"They have to contribute also."

But Mr Charlesworth is pleading with both the State Government and local councils to do more to relieve the pressure on grassroots sporting clubs.

"There needs to be an adjustment in the way in which we support community sport," he said.