Safeguarding hub
U.S. Soccer is committed to a culture of ethical conduct, safety, and compliance. Below, you will find policies implemented by U.S. Soccer to create and maintain this culture, as well as information about how to report concerns about any violations of law, policy, ethics or rules regarding U.S. Soccer and its staff, athletes, and organization members. Timely reporting of violations supports U.S. Soccer’s commitment to a culture of ethics, safety, and compliance and we appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all.
SAFE SOCCER POLICIES
USSF MINOR ATHLETE ABUSE POLICY
U.S. Soccer’s Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (“MAAPP”) limits one-on-one interactions between adults and minor aged participants, sets standards for abuse prevention training, and dictate rules for sports setting designed to prevent abuse and misconduct.
USSF ATHLETE & PARTICIPANT SAFETY POLICY
Under Bylaw 212, each U.S. Soccer Organization Member is required to comply with applicable law, prohibit sexual abuse, and if they deal with athletes, maintain a risk management policy. Policy 212-3 provides criteria for risk management policies in an effort to assist Organization Members in complying with applicable Federal Law.
USSF PROHIBITED CONDUCT POLICY
U.S. Soccer’s Prohibited Conduct Policy includes a code of conduct for direct U.S. Soccer participants and imposes requirements for reporting misconduct as dictated by the Safe Sport Act, the Safe Sport Code, and U.S. Soccer policy.
USSF MODEL POLICIES
Policy 212-3 requires all U.S. Soccer Organization Members to adopt U.S. Soccer’s Model MAAPP Policy and Model Prohibited Conduct Policy.
USSF BACKGROUND SCREENING POLICY
In compliance with the USOPC’s Responsible Sports Organization Policy, U.S. Soccer requires background screening for all employees and other direct U.S. Soccer Program Participants.
USSF PHYSICAL WELL BEING POLICY
U.S. Soccer is committed to promoting safe play and providing education about how to reduce injury in soccer players of all ages.
MODEL CODES OF CONDUCT
The U.S. Soccer Codes of Conduct outline appropriate behavior for each of the roles listed. Member organizations may use these codes exactly as they are, or they may build off them as they see fit for their specific organization.
SEVERITY OF MISCONDUCT MATRICES
Severity of misconduct matrices are provided as a framework for understanding different levels of misconduct and determining next steps / appropriate discipline.
SAFE SOCCER CLEARANCE OVERVIEW
U.S. Soccer is developing a program that will redefine the processes and criteria used to determine eligibility to participate in soccer in the United States by creating a thorough, continuous vetting system that will simultaneously prohibit bad actors from participating in our sport while identifying high-quality individuals.
SAFE SOCCER CLEARANCE BETA PROGRAM LAUNCH
U.S. Soccer is proud to announce the beta launch of our Safe Soccer Clearance program. This program will strengthen safeguarding by providing an option for “green-lighting” eligible participants, in addition to “red-lighting” bad actors after an incident has occurred.
Mana Shim, Chair of the U.S. Soccer Participant Safety Taskforce joined the U.S. Soccer #PlaymakersSummit Participant Safety for an important and insightful discussion ensuring everyone in the sport has a safe place to learn, compete and grow.
