Staff Registration

WHO MUST BE REGISTERED

US Club Soccer staff registration is required of any non-player Direct Adult Participant (DAP) who has Regular Contact with or authority over Minor Athletes in activities within US Club Soccer’s jurisdiction. For purposes of clarification, that includes Regular Contact with or authority over any US Club Soccer-registered Minor Athlete.

Without limitation, this includes individuals in the following roles:

  • Member Organization Boards of Directors
  • Member Organization and team leadership, executives, directors, coaches, managers, administrators
  • Any member of a team delegation
  • Sports medicine and health care professionals, such as athletic trainers^
  • Referee assignors, coordinators or other referee staff who have Regular Contact with or authority over Minor Athletes^
  • id2 / PDP staff and coaches
Whether the person is an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer does not matter.

DAPs who are not registered with US Club Soccer are not allowed to participate in US Club Soccer activities or with US Club Soccer-registered Minor Athletes. Member Organizations are responsible for compliance, and those who are not in compliance are subject to disqualification, corrective action, disciplinary action and/or termination.

^Considered DAPs if part of the Member Organization or Third-party Adult Participants (TPAPs) if contracted from an external organization (such as a hospital or healthcare system for athletic trainers, or a referee assigning company)

For more information, please see Policy 4.07 and Section 13 of US Club Soccer’s Policy Manual for more information.

  • Activities within US Club Soccer’s jurisdiction: Includes not only activities directly operated by US Club Soccer, but also sanctioned and related activities operated by Member Organizations (ex: clubs), including, but not limited to, practices/training, scrimmages, sanctioned league and tournament activities, team travel, applicable off-field activities and other In-Program Contact.

  • Adult Participant: Any adult (18 years of age or older) US Club Soccer or a Member Organization authorizes, approves or appoints to have Regular Contact or authority over Minor Athletes in activities within US Club Soccer’s jurisdiction. There are two types of Adult Participants:

    • Direct Adult Participant (DAP): Directly affiliated with US Club Soccer or a Member Organization.

    • Third-party Adult Participant (TPAP): Not directly affiliated with US Club Soccer or a Member Organization, such as athletic trainers from a hospital/healthcare system that a Member Organization uses for a game(s). (Please reference Section 13 of US Club Soccer’s Policy Manual for information about requirements for TPAPs.)

  • Authority: When one person’s position over another person is such that, based on the totality of the circumstances, they have the power or right to direct, control, give orders to, or make decisions for that person. See also the Power Imbalance definition in the SafeSport Code.

  • In-Program Contact: Any contact (including communications, interactions, or activities) between an Adult Participant and any Minor Athlete related to participation in sport. Examples include, but are not limited to, competition, practices, camps/clinics, training/instructional sessions, pre-/post-game meals or outings, team travel, review of game film, team- or sport-related relationship-building activities, celebrations, award ceremonies, banquets, team- or sport-related fundraising or community service, sport education or competition site visits.

  • Minor Athlete: Any individual under 18 years old who participants in activities within US Club Soccer’s jurisdiction. This includes, but is not limited to, players, coaches and referees who are minors.

  • Regular Contact: Ongoing interactions during a 12-month period, wherein an Adult Participant is in a role of direct and active engagement with any Minor Athlete(s).

REGISTRATION/ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

One is registered with US Club Soccer when the following requirements are completed, current and synced/approved in the US Club Soccer registration platform.

  • Completed by: Org admin/club registrar on behalf of the person being registered.

  • Timeframe: Must be valid for the applicable registration year (ex: 2023-24 or 2024-25).

  • Membership types/categories:
    • Competitive
    • Rec

  • Instructions (GotSport): Available via Org Admin/Club Registrar Help Article Table of Contents.
  • Standard: US Club Soccer utilizes USOPC-standard background screening – the same standard as the U.S. Soccer Federation.

  • Completed by: Person being registered.

  • Instructions: Instructions to complete background screening

  • Timeframe: Every other registration year. (A mid-cycle recheck consistent with USOPC standards will automatically run one year after the date of initial completion.) For 2024-25: Must be completed and passed on or after June 1, 2023.

  • Cost: $26.85 for domestic screening. If applicable, international screening generally ranges between $56 – $300 per country. For org/club administrators: Instructions to pre-pay background screening for some or all of your staff members

  • Provider: JDP is US Club Soccer’s background screening provider. You may be contacted by JDP if further information is needed.

  • Average turnaround time for results: Domestic and International – 2023 and 2024 (through June 10, 2024)

  • International screening: In addition to domestic screening, individuals who lived outside the United States for 6+ consecutive months within the last 7 years are required to complete an international background screening from each applicable country. The process and turnaround time for results can be significant, so affected individuals are encouraged to complete the application as early as possible.

  • Adjudication & appeals process: Results are usually available in 1-3 days, though the timeframe varies based on factors such as the turnaround time of the specific jurisdictions/counties searched, and may exceed 7 or more days. The initial decision status is posted by JDP based upon the adjudication criteria approved by US Club Soccer’s BOD. It may take up to 12 hours after results are available from JDP for one’s status to auto-update in GotSport.

    • Pre-Adverse Action (GotSport status: Review): Applicants with an offense(s) that does not meet US Club Soccer’s criteria for eligibility receive a Pre-Adverse Action Notice via JDP, usually by email, which includes instructions for filing a dispute (ex: if an offense shows that is not yours). There is a 10-day compliance timeframe for Pre-Adverse Action, during which US Club Soccer will also review its files to determine whether a previous adjudication occurred. If an applicant is not disputing the offense(s) but wants to forego the 10-day compliance timeframe to expedite the process, that person may contact JDP Client Services to do so.

    • Adverse Action/Ineligible/Disqualified (GotSport status: Denied): If a dispute is not initiated or the status is not updated within 10 days, the applicant will receive an Adverse Action Notice, also via JDP and usually by email. Included are instructions to appeal the determination. (Note: Club/org administrations will receive an automatic notification via email from GotSport when this status is reached.)

    • Appeal: Individuals whose background screening results do not meet the criteria for registration and participation with US Club Soccer may appeal the determination within 15 calendar days of the Adverse Action Notice by submitting the US Club Soccer Eligibility Request for Appeal form. Individuals who appeal will have their case reviewed by US Club Soccer.
  • Safesport Trained and Refresher courses are produced by the U.S. Center for SafeSport and focused on abuse awareness and prevention. More information about the courses is available here.

  • One SafeSport Trained Core or Refresher course is required each year, and it should be the next course in the four-year cycle of: 1) SafeSport Trained – U.S. Soccer Federation, which is also referred to as “Core” training; 2) SafeSport Refresher 1; 3) SafeSport Refresher 2; and 4) SafeSport Refresher 3.
  • Completed by: Person being registered.

  • Instructions: GotSport (or, email SafeSport@usclubsoccer.org to receive an auto-reply with updates and instructions with platform access outside of GotSport, course completion and certificate downloads). Athlete One/TGS

  • Timeframe: Annual. For 2024-25, must be completed on or after June 1, 2024.
  • While parts of this requirement were previously part of US Club Soccer’s background screening application, this is now a new requirement effective June 1, 2024.

  • Completed by: Person being registered.

  • Instructions (GotSport)

  • Timeframe: Annual. For 2024-25, must be completed on or after June 1, 2024.
  • This process is completed internally by US Club Soccer administrators and entails checking the person being registered against the US Club Soccer, U.S. Soccer disqualification/suspension/ineligible lists as well as the U.S. Center for SafeSport Centralized Disciplinary Database. In GotSport, the person being registered must submit a brief self-certification form to initiate this process.

  • Completed by: Self-certification by person being registered (once), then verified internally by US Club Soccer.

  • Instructions (GotSport)

  • Timeframe: Once, by the person being registered. Ongoing checks are managed internally by US Club Soccer.

In GotSport, the requirements appear on the dashboard of the person being registered once the org admin/club registrar adds a person to GotSport with as an Org Admin, Coach, or Manager with the appropriate affiliation (USCLUB) and competitive level (Competitive or Rec). Also, a GotSport account will be created for that person if one does not already exist.