U.S. Soccer Resources

The U.S. Soccer Federation Bylaws and Policies are available on this web page. A few bylaws and policies that may be of specific interest to US Club Soccer members:

• Bylaw 212:  General Responsibilities
• Policy 212-1:  Participation in Affiliated Organizations
• Policy 531-9:  Misconduct Towards Game Officials
• Policy 601-7:  Competition Participation

Please see this page.

Important updates have been made to the sanctioned tournament hosting application and terms. Pursuant to the U.S. Soccer player safety campaign, any tournament projected to have 64 or more teams at 11-U and older age groups must have an adequate number of certified athletic trainers or other healthcare providers in attendance. For more information on this requirement, please visit the “Sanction Your Tournament” web page and refer to the “certified athletic trainers at sanctioned tournaments” section.

In August 2015, U.S. Soccer announced two player development initiatives relating to new standards to small-sided games and birth-year registration. This page provides information on US Club Soccer’s implementation of those initiatives.

• U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiatives Presentation (updated September 2017). This presentation – available in English and Español – is designed as a resource to parents, coaches and referees.

While the U.S. Soccer Federation’s birth-year registration mandate is required to be implemented by all U.S. Soccer members by August 1, 2017, US Club Soccer implemented this mandate as of August 1, 2016 for all of its programming. This included the NPL, National Cup and all sanctioned leagues and tournaments. This means that all US Club Soccer-operated or sanctioned competitions beginning must be based on age group cut-offs of January 1 for each age group. Clubs may continue to organize their teams for competition with players of any age younger than the age group cut-off.

US Club Soccer members have been required to follow the U.S. Soccer mandates related to small-sided games, which also includes changes to field and goal sizes, since Aug. 1, 2017.

Approval from the U.S. Soccer Federation must be obtained for any game or tournament involving international teams.

In order to obtain U.S. Soccer Federation approval, the following documents must be submitted to US Club Soccer for authorization at least 45 days prior to the tournament.

1. Application to host a game or tournament involving foreign teams (HAPP 4-11)
2. U.S. Soccer International Tournament/Games Hosting Agreement (HTED 3-03)
3. A copy of the rules for the tournament or games in accordance with FIFA Laws of the Game.**
4. Fee of $75 made payable to the U.S. Soccer Federation, via check or credit card.

**Please review the Rules Checklist for Hosting a Game or Tournament Involving Foreign Teams. Rules submitted MUST follow the below guidelines:

• OVERTIME – FIFA’s rules specify that if overtime periods are used, overtime periods must be played to completion. “Golden goal” and “Silver goal” are no longer allowed.
• SUBSTITUTIONS – FIFA’s rules specify that the following substitution rules must be included:
  (1) a player may be substituted on at a stoppage of play with the permission of the referee; otherwise substitutions may be made at any stoppage only with the permission of the referee, and
  (2) if the age group is 15 & under, free substitution is allowed. For age groups 16 years and older, free substitution is allowed providing the tournament is not an official competition (but a friendly club tournament) and the age category does not include matches between national teams of CONCACAF member countries.

After approving the application and confirming that the host club is a member in good standing, US Club Soccer will then forward the applicable documents and payment onto the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The complete U.S. Soccer Federation approval process is outlined at the corresponding link below.

• U.S. Soccer Federation – Federation Services Resource Center
• Youth Permission to Travel/Host (Foreign Travel)
• International Games
• International Clearance Process – Note that it is the responsibility of each US Club member to abide by the U.S. Soccer and FIFA rules on foreign born players. US Club Soccer Player Rule 102 (e) states as follows:
  • (e) International Player Clearances: Any foreign-born player must receive clearance from the United States Soccer Federation (“U.S. Soccer”) to register with an affiliated club in the United States, in accordance with then-current FIFA and U.S. Soccer rules and regulations, prior to participation.  U.S. Soccer’s process and applicable forms can be found here.
• Sports Medicine