Football (Soccer)

Safety rules and procedures are important because of the degree of body contact in soccer. Modified rules appropriate to the various age-groups should be used.

As part of the process of safety self-regulation, all persons engaging in this activity should identify the hazards, assess their significance and manage the potential risks including any additional hazards not mentioned here.

Hazards that may be encountered in soccer include:

• equipment (e.g. goal nets, balls)
• body contact

The categorisation of these conditions is subjective and offered as a starting point for risk management planning. The actual degree of risk is best ascertained by persons with intimate local knowledge present at the site of the activity.

Participation in soccer involves medium risk (level 2).

One adult present should have knowledge of, and an ability to perform, first aid procedures. Minimum requirements; Senior First Aid (e.g. QAS, St. John's Ambulance) or the equivalent.

During competition, a qualified first aid officer/sports trainer should be located in an accessible position to the field(s) of play to provide immediate first aid assistance. There must be phone access to call an ambulance if required.

If an adult other than a registered teacher is engaged for instruction, a teacher should be present to take overall responsibility.

The qualifications listed in this section are minimums for each type of situation. Leaders are encouraged to seek training to raise their qualification level above the minimum listed.

The leader should be:

• a registered teacher with experience (previous involvement) in the teaching of soccer or
• an adult who has Level 1 coaching qualifications from the Australian Soccer Federation.

Competition games should be controlled by qualified or experienced coaches and officials.

A first aid kit should be available at all venues where lessons and competitions are conducted.

Initial introduction of the activity should include:

• appropriate warm-up and warm-down activities
• rules, safety procedures and prerequisite skills before students play the game
• progressive and sequential skill development
• modified games that match skill and fitness levels of students.

Teachers should ensure students cut or tape long fingernails to prevent injury to any participants.

Teachers should obtain parents' (or caregivers') written permission for students to be involved.

Teachers should ascertain that students should participate only if medically fit.

Students should have progressed through the skills and knowledge areas associated with mini soccer before participating at a level governed by the full laws of the game.

Activities should be sited away from buildings, pedestrians and traffic.

The playing area needs to be level, grassed and free from obstacles and loose objects.

A minimum space of five metres should surround each field.

Goals should be stable and firmly fixed.

Corner flags or markers should be made of non-injurious material.

Player equipment, including footwear and other protective items, should comply with age standard levels appropriate to the laws of the games.

Students should wear footwear (e.g. boots or shoes) made of safe materials.

Boots or shoes should be inspected before each match. Boots or shoes with loose, sharp-edged or excessively worn studs and sharp-edged soles should not be worn.

Correctly sized and fastened shin pads and correctly fitted mouthguards should be worn for playing and practising.

Goal-keepers should defend their goal against only one ball at a time during skills practice.

Rules regarding body contact should be enforced to ensure the safety of the students.

Teachers should identify students who may be suffering an injury. If there is reason to believe that a student is injured, the teacher should remove the student from the field of play.

Procedures should be established for the management of any student receiving an injury to the head.

Teachers should remove students with open cuts and abrasions from the field of play for immediate treatment. If bleeding cannot be controlled completely, the player should not be allowed to return to the field of play. All clothing, equipment and surfaces contaminated by blood should be treated as potentially infectious.

Students should not return to playing after injury until it is clear that the injury has healed. If there is any doubt, the student should not play until medically cleared.

• HLS-PR-013: Developing a Sun Safety Strategy
• SCM-PR-002: School Excursions
• HLS-PR-005: Injury, Illness and Dangerous Event Recording and Reporting
• HLS-PR-003: First Aid for Schools and Non-school Locations