Mini-Soccer Handbook - The Football Association

Goalpost SafetyRemember to use all equipment, not justgoalposts, safely at all timesThe Football Association, alongwith the Department forCulture, Media and Sport, theHealth and Safety Executive andthe British Standards Institution,would like to draw yourattention to the followingguidelines for the safe use ofgoalposts. Too many seriousinjuries and fatalities haveoccurred in recent years as aresult of unsafe or incorrect useof goalposts. Safety is always ofparamount importance andeveryone in football must playtheir part to prevent similarincidents occurring in the future.1. For safety reasons goalpostsof any size (including thosewhich are portable and notinstalled permanently at apitch or practice field) mustalways be anchored securelyto the ground• Portable goalposts must besecured as per themanufacturers instructions• Under no circumstancesshould children or adults beallowed to climb on, swingor play with the structure ofthe goalposts• Particular attention is drawnto the fact that if notproperly assembled andsecured, portable goalpostsmay overturn• Regular inspections ofgoalposts must be carriedout to check that they areproperly maintained2. Portable goalposts shouldnot be left in place after use.They should be dismantledand removed to a place ofsecure storage3. Nets should only be securedby plastic hooks or tape andnot by metal cup hooks.Any metal cup hooks shouldbe removed and replaced.New goalposts should notbe purchased if they includemetal cup hooks that cannotbe replaced4. Goalposts which are “homemade” or which have beenaltered from their originalsize or construction shouldnot be used. These havebeen the cause of a numberof deaths and injuries5. There is no BS/CEN or PASstandard for wooden goalsand it is unlikely thatwooden goals will pass aload or stability test.The FA recommends thatwooden goals should bereplaced when necessarywith compliant metal orplastic goalpostsFor reference, you should notethat The FA and BSI developeda standard for future purchasesof mini-soccer goalposts –BS8462 (2005). Copies of thisstandard are available from BSI.The FA together withrepresentatives from the industry,sports governing bodies andGovernment have preparedguidelines for pitch users andpitch providers together withtechnical parameters for goalpostmanufacturers. It is anticipatedthat details of these will featureon the FA’s website –www.TheFA.com25