Sanction a Tournament

APPLY FOR US CLUB SOCCER SANCTIONING TOURNAMENT SANCTIONING:

General Information:

  1. All tournament applications must be submitted by a US Club Soccer member club. 

  2. All tournaments must comply with U.S. Soccer and US Club Soccer bylaws, policies and other applicable rules and directives. That includes, but is not limited to, US Club Soccer’s Participant Safety/Risk Management policies. That includes, but is not limited to, the following policies:

    • Tournament Directors much be registered with US Club Soccer. 

    • Direct Adult Participants (DAPS) with regular contact with or authority over Minor Athletes must be registered with US Club Soccer.

  3. The approval of applications is based in part on the host club being a member in good standing at the time of the tournament. 

  4. If approved, US Club Soccer will stamp as such and send it back to you, along with an approval letter.

Sanctioning Fee:

  • $100

Application:

Please note that if you are applying for tournament sanctioning within 60 days of your event, special permission is needed before your application is submitted. Please contact your General Manager regarding this matter.

Contact:

US Club Soccer tournament sanctioning is now managed by US Club Soccer’s member administration team. Please email TournamentSanctioning@usclubsoccer.org with any questions. 

CERTIFIED ATHLETIC TRAINERS AT SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS:

Pursuant to the U.S. Soccer player safety campaign, any tournament projected to have 64 or more teams at U-11 and older age groups must have an adequate number of certified athletic trainers or other healthcare professionals in attendance. They must be accessible to coaches, referees and athletes as needed during play. A major tournament means all of these:

  • a tournament played over multiple days;
  • where age-group-based champions will be determined;
  • in which 64 or more teams (excluding teams U-10 and younger) are entered.

The individual should be a licensed healthcare professional (HCP), such as an athletic trainer certified (ATC) or a physician (MD/DO), with a skill set in emergency care and sports medicine injuries, and with knowledge and experience related to concussion evaluation and management.

Each “major youth tournament” hosting entity should collaborate and communicate with an HCP, if available, on an overall emergency action plan and discuss the management of environmental injuries, injury prevention, head injury management and return-to-play matters.

A certified athletic trainer means a person who has credentials from the Board of Certification and/or has the appropriate license from their state.

The trainer or other healthcare professional must be able to conduct SCAT3 and modified BESS concussion tests on the sideline.

Determining the “adequate number of trainers” depends in part on the total number of teams, field layout, etc. For example, a ratio of one trainer to four or six fields may be adequate. More than one trainer would be required if the tournament fields are spread out over a large area, or if the tournament is held at different locations.

For general information on athletic trainers, please visit this National Athletic Trainers Association web page or connect with US Club Soccer partner Go4 to create a staffing plan and ensure all your athletic training needs are met.

SUPPLEMENTAL TOURNAMENT INSURANCE:

Supplemental tournament insurance is offered to hosts of US Club Soccer-sanctioned tournaments in order to obtain liability and accident insurance coverage for all non-US Club Soccer participating teams. (Teams using US Club Soccer passcards already have coverage.) This simplifies attendance for teams, especially if a number of non-US Club Soccer teams are not able to obtain insurance from their state association or other U.S. Soccer Organization Member. To do so, please complete and follow the instructions on the form below.

For additional information related to attending a tournament, please visit the Attending a Tournament page. This includes information regarding a US Club Soccer member attending a non-US Club Soccer-sanctioned tournament, and a non-member attending a US Club Soccer-sanctioned tournament.

HOSTING INTERNATIONAL TEAMS:

Approval from the U.S. Soccer Federation must be obtained for any game or tournament involving international (“foreign”) teams. For more information or to apply, visit U.S. Soccer’s Application to Host a Tournament or Games Involving Foreign Teams web page on ussoccer.com.

Applications are due a minimum of 30 days prior to the start of the event. Please contact hosting-travel@ussoccer.org with questions.