administrative  guide    

What are Administrative Policies? 

A policy is defined as a collectively agreed position on a certain matter. Policies are important as they are a way for a club’s Board of Directors to pre-emptively make decisions on a variety of routine matters without having to repeatedly convene a Board meeting.

As a guide, your club should have administrative policies in the following area:  

• Club Registration Guidelines

• Medical Release and Consent Forms

• Uniforms Policies

• Office Procedures

How to create a comprehensive club plan?             
 Sample SWOT Analysis    |  Sample Planning Questions  |

Strong clubs exercise good governance by using planning to drive the overall direction of the club. Every soccer club should have planning of some sort in place, upon which its programs and activities are based. 

At a minimum every club should have the following basic plans: 

• Operational Plan - this lays out programming activities, campaigns and operational commitments every year to match their annual budget. 

• Technical Plan - this outlines the pathway through which youth players are developed in their prescribed programs. This plan should be supported coach development plan. 

• Strategic Plan - includes high level targets and goals to be achieved over a number of years. The club's annual operational and technical plans should be geared to achieve the longer term strategic goals. 

Is my club achieving its goals?  

Strong clubs have the ability to evaluate their performance (and that of their programs) and properly report to their Board of Directors and stakeholders. Your evaluation program should have a number of performance measures that indicate quality in your programs and also show your progress towards meeting the goals. 

As a guide, your club should implement simple evaluation programs which form the basis of essential reports:   

• Customer/Player Satisfaction Surveys 

• Financial Data 

• Player Data 

• Key Reports: Annual Club Report | Financial Reports | Management Reports | Technical Reports  

What is Risk Management?                                                 | Sample Planning Questions |

Risk management sounds complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.  Being a soccer club (whether you are large or small, or private or not-for-profit) does not exempt you from this reality. In this industry where the programs you offer involve exposing your customers to potential injury, and where many of them are children (ie. highly vulnerable), makes risk management an even higher priority for strong, responsible clubs.  

Clubs should undertake a basic risk assessment exercise that identifies what the club sees as its main risks such as:  

• Program Risk - this is related to the successful development and execution of the club’s programs. (i.e. competing programs, weather disruption, coach availability or insufficient enrolment.) 

• Operational Risk - related to the smooth running of your club’s business operations. (i.e. staffing risk, child protection and building/facilities risk.) 

• Financial Risk - this relates to the financial well-being of your club.