NISL for Beginners

If you are a new club that is interested in joining our league, here is a list of the step-by-step process:

• APPLICATION:
  • You must first complete our League Application to determine if your teams will be accepted into our league: Click Here. After we receive your application, a member of our staff will contact you via phone or email and schedule a time for you to meet us in the league office prior to your acceptance into the NISL.

• REQUIREMENTS:

1. The Fees for your team and player registration are to be paid upon acceptance into the league.
2. You will need to secure a Home Field Location and must be able to provide the appropriate sized goals and lined fields for your home games according to their age group. NISL field and goal standards are located here: Click Here
3. You will need a State-Certified Referee Assignor that will schedule your home game’s referees. If you do not know of one, the league will be able to present you with a few options in your area. The center referee will be paid for by the league, but if your age group requires linesmen it will be your club’s responsibility to pay for their services as arranged through your assignor.

• ONLINE REGISTRATION:
  • All of your preparation for your NISL League Games will take place through our GotSoccer registration online system. Make sure your club has an administrator who is experienced with computers and will be able to input all of your teams, players, field locations, & game-times into our system. We always recommend having your club administrator arrange a training session in our office to learn how to best utilize the GotSoccer program.
  • COACH REGISTRATION: All coaches that will have an active role on the sidelines for your team’s games must be registered. They will need to complete a background check, provide a photo for their ID Card, and have a minimum “F” license with the USSF (this is an online course that is taken through the following website: Click Here ).
  • PLAYER REGISTRATION: All of your players will need to be registered into our system and have a Photo and Proof of Age uploaded for their ID Card per NISL approval. We will accept Birth Certificates, State ID’s, or Passports for their Proof of Age. If any forged Proof of Age is submitted into the league it may result in the expulsion of the player, team, or club from our league.

• SCHEDULING & RANKING:
  • RANKING: It is extremely important that your team is placed into the right division according to their skill level. We always recommend that new clubs attend our Fall Pre-Season Festival to play against league competition prior to the start of the season. This will let the league know exactly where your team belongs so that they are appropriately challenged in the NISL. We will post the Division Placement on our website and allow movement by request at our Ranking Meeting prior to the divisions being finalized. As we always say: “Winning easy makes players lazy. Constant losing demotivates.”
  • GAME DATE/TIME SCHEDULING: Prior to the start of the season, we will post initial schedules that you will need to update online with your preferred dates, times, and locations. After that is completed, we hold a mandatory Scheduling Meeting that you must attend. During this meeting, you will sit at a table with representatives from all of the teams in your division and agree upon game-times that will work for both the Home & Away teams. A lot of this negotiation can be done online prior to the meeting, and we recommend doing as much scheduling as possible before the meeting. Please be prepared with all of your possible tournament and vacation dates for the duration of the season to minimize the need for rescheduling.
  • RESCHEDULING: The times agreed upon at the Scheduling Meeting will be considered final unless your opposing team contacts you more than 5 days prior to the game date and asks to reschedule. Any game that needs to be rescheduled within 5 days of the game-time will result in a $100 fine. Games that need to be rescheduled due to weather are not subject to fines. If the home team fails to notify their assignor of a previously agreed upon weather cancellation, this will result in the referee showing up to the match and they will be responsible for compensating the referee for their time.

• GAME DAY: All you need to start your game is to hand your GotSoccer Game Day Roster and your Coach/Player ID Cards into the referee and you should be all good to go!