Select Undo to remove the deferral. Confirming the number also removes it.
Common questions
What if I change my mind?
What does a parent see?
Nothing different. The entry for the FA Club Portal says that the team is not affiliated yet.
Why does the team still not show as ready?
There are two reasons, and the row says which:
- The coach has not accepted the invite. A coach counts only when they have their own Sideline One account, even if you filled in all their details. Select Send the invite again, and ask the coach to open the email.
- The coach's details are not complete. The row names what is missing. The coach can add it, or you can fill in what you know.
From Add your coaches
What if the paste leaves someone out?
Sideline leaves out a person with no role on the page, because they may be a player. Add that person by hand.
From Add your coaches
Can I approve a coach whose DBS check is not on file?
Yes. The screen shows a warning, but you can approve now and record the check later in the full site.
How do I make the coach the head coach?
Approve them first, then change their role on the team's staff page in the full site.
Why is a coach no longer on the list?
Another official approved or declined them already.
Can I do this in the full site?
Yes. In the full site, open Officials and select Check coaches. The rules and the emails are the same.
Can I do this on my phone?
Yes. Open the club app, select Inbox, then To do, then Registrations to confirm. Select a player to check the photo and confirm or reject them. To confirm several players, tick them and select the Confirm button under the list. The next screen has Undo, the same as the full site. See Confirm or reject registrations on your phone.
Why can I not select Confirm registration?
The registration is not ready. The Waiting on column says why:
- Awaiting coach: a coach must endorse the registration first.
- Awaiting payment: the family has not paid the fee yet.
- Awaiting Direct Debit: the family has not set up the Direct Debit yet.
- Payer in arrears: the family owes the club money from before. A treasurer clears this.
- Blocked: you or another official blocked the registration. Select Unblock in the three dots menu when the problem is solved.
What does Awaiting coach mean?
This team asks a coach to check each registration before the club official does. The registration waits until a coach selects Endorse. If a coach does not act, you can select Endorse in the three dots menu instead.
Each team has its own setting. To change it, edit the team and choose under Who approves registrations. If you choose Secretary approves alone, registrations that wait for a coach come to you at once.
What if the parent has not paid?
You cannot approve the registration until the family pays this season's fee, unless the fee schedule is pay as you go. The status shows Awaiting payment until then. The club holds the place for a number of days. A person with the View finance permission can see every unpaid registration, and chase it, in Chase unpaid registrations.
Where can I see the player's photo and proof of identity?
Select Registrations in the menu, then FA Club Portal entry. Select Open beside the player. The page shows the photo and the proof of identity. It lists the players who are ready for you.
In the registration queue, the three dots menu on a row also has Download photo and Download proof of identity.
How do I get the photos for the FA Club Portal?
- In the registration queue, select the players.
- Select Download photos and ID for the FA Club Portal.
You get one zip file. Each file has the name of the player and their date of birth, for example Smith_Jack_14-03-2015.jpg. A proof of identity ends in _ID. Upload each file to the player on the FA Club Portal.
How do I record that a player is registered on the FA Club Portal?
Use FA Club Portal entry. When you select Tick off, Sideline records that the player is registered on the FA Club Portal, with the date and your name. The player's record shows it under FA Club Portal.
If you confirmed the registration from the queue, open the player in Players and select Mark as registered on the FA Club Portal.
What happens if I add more teams than my plan covers?
Sideline tells you before you confirm. For example, the form says the new team takes you to 10 teams while the plan covers 9. When you confirm, the plan moves up to the new number.
Can I pay for fewer teams?
Yes, but not below the teams you have now. Retire the teams first, then lower the plan.
Does Sideline remind the family?
Yes. Sideline emails the person who pays 2 days and 7 days after the registration was submitted, if it is still unpaid. One email covers every unpaid child of that person. Reminders stop while a request for help to pay is open.
What happens when the held place runs out?
The list shows Hold ended. Sideline does not release the place. You decide whether to chase the family, waive the fee or withdraw the registration.
Can an unpaid player play?
No. You cannot confirm a registration until the first payment is made, waived or deferred, or the Direct Debit is set up. Only a confirmed player can be picked for a match.
Why does a player have no Confirm registration button on my phone?
The app thinks the player may be registered twice. Select Open in full site and check the player there before you confirm.
Can I block a registration on my phone?
No. To ask a parent for a new photo or proof of identity, use the full site. See Approve a registration.
Why is there no tick box next to a player?
The player may be registered twice. Check the player in the full site.
Why did the screen ask me to confirm again?
You changed the leaving date. The amount owed depends on the date, so the screen shows the new amount first. Check it, then select Confirm the leave again.
The family still owes money. What can I do?
Select Email contacts about this balance to email the family about it. A leave with money owed needs someone who can override payments, such as your treasurer. They see a box to leave the player anyway.
Can I confirm a leave in the full site instead?
Yes. The full site uses the same rules and sends the same email.
What happens if I open the email link twice?
The first time, Sideline confirms your email and signs you in. The second time, Sideline confirms your email again and asks you to sign in.
From Create your club
Why must the club name be exactly as the FA has it?
Sideline uses the name to match your fixtures on FA Full-Time. If the name is different, fixtures do not match.
From Create your club
Can I change the number of teams later?
Yes. See Change your Sideline plan.
From Create your club
What does the AI paste section do?
If you tick all four boxes, AI paste is on from the start, and the paste steps in your setup checklist open straight away. You still check every suggestion before Sideline saves it. If you leave the boxes empty, Sideline asks you the same four questions the first time you paste. Any Owner can turn AI paste off in Settings, AI.
From Create your club
I already have a Sideline account. Do I sign up again?
No. Sign in first. Sideline takes you from the plan page straight to the club form.
From Create your club
Why does Sideline skip some games?
Sideline skips games in the past, games with no date yet, and games between two other clubs. A game is skipped as another club's game when neither team name contains your club's name. It tells you how many it skipped.
Why does a kickoff time show as Time TBC?
FA Full-Time shows 07:00 for a game with no kickoff time yet. Sideline treats that as not set and shows Time TBC. When the league sets a real time, import the page again.
What if a game is postponed on FA Full-Time?
A postponed or void game that is not in Sideline is not added. A game you already have is listed under In Sideline but no longer on Full-Time, so you decide what to do.
Can I import the same page twice?
Yes. Sideline does not add a game twice. It changes the kickoff time of a game you have not put on a pitch, and it tells you about the others.
What if the file is empty or the wrong page?
Sideline says so and imports nothing. Save the page again from FA Full-Time. A page that says "Attention Required" is a "check your browser" page, not your fixtures. Open the fixtures page, wait for it to load, and save it again.
Can I import my players?
No. Parents register their own children, which is how consent works. Sideline does not send a sheet with dates of birth or parent columns.
Can I import officials or coaches?
Not yet. Invite officials from the Officials step, or use the workbook. See Set up your club from a workbook.
What if the import is not available?
The workbook and the other ways always work.
Why do I have to sign in again?
The installed app keeps its own sign-in, separate from your browser. Sign in once in the app. If you sign out in your browser, you stay signed in to the app.
I tapped Not now on the banner. How do I get it back?
On an iPhone, use the Share button as above. On an Android phone, use the three dots menu in Chrome as above.
How do I remove Sideline from my phone?
Touch and hold the Sideline icon, then choose the option to remove it. Your account and your club's information are not deleted.
Why is a team not ready?
A team needs a plan, a head coach with full details, and an affiliation number or a record that it affiliates later. The row says which is missing.
Can I open one team at a time?
Yes. Open a team from its own page, or open them all together here.
What if I already have a Sideline account?
Select Sign in at the top of the first screen. You come back to the same page after you sign in. On the Player screen you can pick your child from a list, so you type less. You do not need to finish your account by email.
From Register your child
What if I close the page before I finish?
If you are not signed in, Sideline sends your answers to the club only after you follow the link in the email and select Finish registering. It keeps them for 3 days. If you close the page before you select Submit registration, open the registration link again and start again. If you close it after that, open the email and select the link. If you cannot find the email, look in your spam folder.
From Register your child
Why does Sideline ask for a second contact?
The club calls them if it cannot reach you. If you choose Parent or guardian, Sideline emails them an invitation to set up their own account. They get the same access as you, including your child's medical details. If you choose Emergency contact only, they see nothing online.
From Register your child
Who sees my child's health answers?
Your child's coaches use the health answers to keep your child safe. Only the club's welfare officers see the safeguarding answer.
From Register your child
What do I pay when I register?
The Review screen shows each payment with its date before you submit: what you pay today (or "Nothing to pay"), the date and amount of the first Direct Debit, the regular payments up to the last month, and the total for the season. You never pay for months after the season ends.
What you pay today can include:
- The club's registration fee, if it has one. You pay it on top of the plan the club has set for the team.
- The rest of this month, at a daily rate, if the club charges for it at registration. Some clubs add it to the first Direct Debit instead. A player who played at the club last season does not pay for the rest of the month.
- Next month, if the plan is monthly and there are fewer than 5 working days before the 1st. A new Direct Debit needs 5 working days before the bank can take the first payment. Weekends and bank holidays do not count.
The Direct Debit then takes each monthly payment on the 1st. If there is something to pay today, you choose how to pay on the payment screen.
From Register your child
Can I register more than one child?
Yes. You register one child at a time. If you are signed in, you can register brothers and sisters one after the other: after you submit, select Register for another team?, or open the registration link again and select Register someone new. Sideline fills in your address and second contact from the child you already registered, and you can change them. If you are not signed in, open the registration link again for each child.
From Register your child
Why can I not see the name or the details of a case on my phone?
A phone is easy to lose or to read over a shoulder. The app shows only that something is waiting. Open the full site to see the case.
Can I change a case on my phone?
No. All work on a case is in the full site.
Why do I not see welfare alerts?
You see alerts only when you can open every welfare case in the club. If the club gave you access to one case only, you see that case in the full site, but no alerts.
Why can I not send a second reminder?
You can send one reminder to a family each day. This stops a family getting the same email twice, for example when two officials act at the same time.
From Send a payment reminder or record a cash payment on your phone
Why is Send a reminder not there?
You can see the list, but you do not have the permission to send reminders or record payments. Ask your treasurer or the club owner.
From Send a payment reminder or record a cash payment on your phone
I recorded a payment by mistake. How do I fix it?
Open the family's account in the full site and reverse the payment. You give a reason, and the charges are owed again.
From Send a payment reminder or record a cash payment on your phone
What is a season?
A season is the stretch of time your teams play and parents sign up for, for example 2026/27, 1 September to 31 May. Fees, teams and registrations all belong to a season. Most clubs pick the shared season. Name your own only for something with different dates, for example a summer league.
Can I use the workbook more than once?
Yes. Each workbook adds new records. It cannot change a team, league or fee that already exists. If a row uses a name that is already in use, the check page tells you.
What if I get a message that a coach cannot be found?
Add the coach to the Officials tab with the same email address, or ask them to join your club first. Then check the file again.
What if I change my mind after the set-up?
Undo the whole set-up from the result page or from Recent bulk changes. Sideline keeps anything that is already in use. You can also change any single record on its own screen.
Why must I copy names exactly from the FA Club Portal?
FA Full-Time is where leagues publish fixtures, results and tables. Sideline matches your fixtures on FA Full-Time by the team names and your club's name. If a name is different, the fixtures for that team do not match.
Why can parents not register for my team yet?
A team opens to parents when it has a plan and a head coach with full details. Your club must also have a badge, the required officials and a payment account. The opening check shows what is missing.
Does the checklist lock anything?
No. A step that waits for another step says which one. Select Open it anyway to go on.
What does Skip for now do on the badge step?
It counts the step as done. Your club then shows its initials instead of a badge. The Dashboard keeps offering the badge until you add one.
Can I change a plan later?
Yes. Nothing is charged until a parent registers. To change which teams have a plan, select Choose teams on the plan.
Can a team have more than one plan?
Yes. A parent picks one plan when they register. For example, you can offer a monthly plan and a yearly plan.
Why can my team not open for registration?
A team with no plan cannot open. Add a plan and tick the team.