Coach Terms and Conditions

These Coach Terms and Conditions ("Coach Terms") apply to all football coaches who register or apply to offer one-to-one or small group football coaching sessions through the VerifiedCoaches platform (the "Platform"). These Coach Terms form a binding agreement between you and VerifiedCoaches Ltd.

1Your Relationship with VerifiedCoaches

1.1You are an independent service provider. Nothing in these Coach Terms creates an employment relationship, worker relationship, partnership, joint venture, agency relationship, or relationship of principal and agent between you and VerifiedCoaches.

1.2You are responsible for your own tax obligations, national insurance contributions, VAT obligations, insurance obligations, professional registrations, and any other statutory or regulatory obligations that apply to you.

1.3VerifiedCoaches provides a platform for you to advertise coaching services, receive bookings, process payments, manage your schedule, and communicate with Parents about Sessions. VerifiedCoaches does not direct, supervise, or control how you deliver football coaching, subject to mandatory platform rules, safeguarding requirements, venue requirements, and conduct standards.

1.4You may offer coaching services outside the Platform. However, you must not solicit, accept, arrange, or receive direct bookings or payments from any Parent, Player, or family first introduced to you through the Platform, for the duration of your active account and for 6 months after your account ends.

1.5You must not use Platform information, Parent information, Player information, Session notes, or messaging features to divert business away from VerifiedCoaches or to avoid platform fees.

2Eligibility and Verification Requirements

2.1To register as a Coach, you must meet and continue to meet all of the following requirements:

2.1.1You must be at least 18 years old.

2.1.2You must hold a current Enhanced DBS certificate suitable for working with children and young people. Where you are registered with the DBS Update Service, you must provide your Update Service reference number and consent to VerifiedCoaches checking your certificate status.

2.1.3You must hold a valid FA coaching qualification at Level 1 or above, UEFA C Licence or above, or another qualification accepted by VerifiedCoaches in writing.

2.1.4You must hold a current FA Safeguarding Children Course certificate completed through learn.englandfootball.com or an equivalent safeguarding certificate accepted by VerifiedCoaches in writing. The certificate must be valid and renewed when required.

2.1.5You must hold current public liability insurance with minimum cover of one million pounds, covering one-to-one and small group coaching of children.

2.1.6You must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom.

2.1.7You must provide any additional information reasonably requested by VerifiedCoaches for safeguarding, verification, payment, tax, identity, or platform integrity purposes.

2.2You must submit copies or photographs of required documents through the Platform or by email to hello@verifiedcoaches.co.uk. VerifiedCoaches will aim to review documents within 48 to 72 hours, but approval is not guaranteed within that period.

2.3You must notify VerifiedCoaches immediately if any credential expires, is suspended, is revoked, becomes inaccurate, is no longer valid, or if you become subject to any allegation, investigation, restriction, disciplinary process, safeguarding concern, criminal charge, or other matter that may affect your suitability to coach children.

2.4VerifiedCoaches may request updated documents, repeat checks, pause your profile, restrict bookings, or require additional evidence at any time.

2.5Providing false, altered, expired, misleading, unverifiable, or fraudulent documents is a serious breach and may result in immediate suspension, permanent removal from the Platform, cancellation of bookings, payout hold, and referral to relevant authorities or governing bodies.

3Your Coach Profile

3.1You are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and ongoing truthfulness of your Coach profile, including your biography, qualifications, experience, specialisms, availability, pricing, venue information, club affiliations, academy experience, and photographs.

3.2You must not include misleading claims about your qualifications, playing experience, coaching experience, professional status, club affiliation, safeguarding status, insurance, or credentials.

3.3VerifiedCoaches may ask you to provide evidence for any profile claim. If you cannot provide satisfactory evidence, VerifiedCoaches may remove the claim, pause your profile, suspend your account, cancel bookings, or terminate your account.

3.4Profile photographs must be genuine images of you. You must not use stock photography, images of other people, misleading images, or AI-generated images as your profile photograph.

3.5Any false, misleading, unverifiable, or fraudulent profile information may result in immediate suspension pending investigation and may lead to permanent removal from the Platform.

4Sessions

4.1You must deliver all Sessions in a professional, safe, inclusive, and child-appropriate manner. Sessions must be planned, age-appropriate, and focused on goals agreed with the Parent.

4.2All Sessions involving children under 16 must take place at Approved Public Venues only. You must not conduct Sessions at a private residence, your own home, a Parent's home, or any location that is not a recognised public or semi-public sporting venue approved by VerifiedCoaches.

4.3Before beginning any Session involving a Player under 16, you must confirm that a Parent or legal guardian is present on site and within sight of the Session. If no Parent or legal guardian is present, you must not begin the Session and must notify VerifiedCoaches immediately.

4.4You must check the playing area and equipment for obvious hazards before each Session. If the venue is unsafe, you must not proceed until the issue is resolved.

4.5You must not photograph or video record any child during a Session without the prior written consent of the Parent or guardian. If consent is given, images or recordings must be used solely for the agreed purpose and must comply with the Safeguarding Policy and Privacy Policy.

4.6You must submit Session notes through the Platform within 24 hours of completing each Session. Session notes should include a summary of what was covered, areas of progress, recommended focus areas, and any homework drills or practice suggestions.

4.7You must not include inappropriate, discriminatory, excessive, inaccurate, or sensitive personal information in Session notes unless it is necessary for safeguarding, safety, or coaching purposes.

5Payments and Fees

5.1You set your own Session prices through the Platform, unless VerifiedCoaches notifies you of pricing rules, minimums, maximums, or promotional requirements that apply to a particular campaign or feature.

5.2All payments from Parents are processed through the Platform via Stripe or another payment processor notified by VerifiedCoaches. You must not accept cash, bank transfers, card payments, or any other direct payment from Parents for Sessions booked or introduced through the Platform.

5.3VerifiedCoaches may charge a platform booking fee to the Parent on each booking. This fee is separate from your Session price and is paid by the Parent in addition to your stated rate unless otherwise displayed at checkout.

5.4During any founding coach period expressly confirmed by VerifiedCoaches, no platform commission will be deducted from your Session earnings. When any founding period ends, VerifiedCoaches will contact you personally to discuss the ongoing fee structure.

5.5Payouts to your designated bank account are processed through Stripe Connect or another payment processor on a rolling schedule, typically within 3 to 7 business days after the Session is completed, subject to payment processor timelines, fraud checks, chargeback risk, and platform review.

5.6VerifiedCoaches is not responsible for payment delays, payout failures, chargebacks, account restrictions, bank errors, incorrect bank details, payment processor holds, or compliance reviews caused by Stripe, your bank, incorrect information, or circumstances outside VerifiedCoaches' reasonable control.

5.7You are solely responsible for reporting your earnings to HMRC and paying any income tax, National Insurance, VAT, or other tax due. VerifiedCoaches will not deduct tax from your earnings and will not issue payslips. We may provide annual earnings summaries for your records.

6Cancellations by You

6.1If you need to cancel a confirmed booking, you must do so through the Platform as early as reasonably possible and, where possible, at least 24 hours before the scheduled Session start time.

6.2You should not cancel within 24 hours of a Session except for illness, injury, emergency, unsafe venue, severe weather, transport disruption, safeguarding concern, or another valid reason outside your reasonable control.

6.3If you cancel a confirmed Session, the Parent may receive a full refund or a rescheduled Session at no additional charge, subject to Parent preference and Platform functionality.

6.4Repeated cancellations, including three or more cancellations in any 30-day period, may result in reduced visibility in search results, temporary suspension, account review, or termination depending on the circumstances.

6.5If you fail to attend a confirmed Session without prior cancellation, the Parent will receive a full refund, your account will be subject to immediate review, and VerifiedCoaches may suspend or terminate your account.

6.6VerifiedCoaches may take into account emergency evidence, safeguarding issues, weather warnings, venue notices, or other relevant circumstances when deciding whether a cancellation affects your account status.

7Safeguarding Obligations

7.1You must read, understand, and comply with the VerifiedCoaches Safeguarding Policy and Coach Code of Conduct at all times.

7.2You must report any safeguarding concern to VerifiedCoaches immediately by emailing hello@verifiedcoaches.co.uk. If a child is in immediate danger, you must contact the police on 999 first and then notify VerifiedCoaches.

7.3You must not engage in behaviour that could be inappropriate, abusive, harmful, exploitative, intimidating, discriminatory, sexually suggestive, or unsafe towards any child or young person.

7.4You must not exchange personal contact details, including phone numbers, social media handles, messaging app usernames, or email addresses, directly with any child or young person. All communication with Players must go through their Parent or guardian.

7.5You must not consume alcohol or use illegal substances before or during a Session. You must not attend a Session if you are unfit to coach due to illness, injury, medication, fatigue, impairment, or any other condition that may affect safety.

7.6Any actual, suspected, or reported breach of safeguarding obligations may result in immediate suspension of your profile, cancellation of upcoming bookings, withholding of Platform access, referral to the Designated Safeguarding Lead, and reporting to the FA, local authority, police, DBS, or other relevant body where appropriate.

8Intellectual Property and Platform Records

8.1Session notes, Session data, Player development records, reviews, and other content you submit through the Platform become part of the Platform's operational records.

8.2You grant VerifiedCoaches a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, store, display, reproduce, adapt, and share such content in connection with operating, protecting, improving, and promoting the Platform, including the Player Development Passport feature, subject to applicable data protection and safeguarding obligations.

8.3Your Coach profile, biography, photographs, and profile content may be displayed on the Platform and in marketing materials for VerifiedCoaches. You may request removal of your profile content after termination, subject to VerifiedCoaches retaining records needed for legal, accounting, safeguarding, dispute, or platform integrity purposes.

8.4You must not use the VerifiedCoaches name, logo, shield mark, verification badge, or branding in your own marketing materials without prior written consent.

9Complaints, Reviews, and Investigations

9.1VerifiedCoaches may review complaints, safeguarding reports, poor practice concerns, payment issues, profile accuracy issues, cancellation patterns, and user feedback relating to you.

9.2You must cooperate with any reasonable investigation and provide information requested by VerifiedCoaches within the timeframe given.

9.3You must not contact, pressure, intimidate, retaliate against, or attempt to influence any Parent, Player, complainant, reporter, witness, or other person involved in a complaint or safeguarding matter.

9.4VerifiedCoaches may preserve messages, Session records, booking records, payment records, verification documents, and other relevant information where necessary for investigation, safeguarding, legal, regulatory, or dispute purposes.

10Suspension

10.1Suspension is a temporary restriction of your profile, bookings, messaging, payouts, or access while VerifiedCoaches reviews a concern or manages a risk.

10.2VerifiedCoaches may suspend your account or profile where a safeguarding concern, complaint, or poor practice concern is raised; where a required credential expires, is revoked, or cannot be verified; where we suspect fraud, false profile information, payment abuse, off-platform dealing, or misuse of Platform data; where you repeatedly cancel or fail to attend Sessions; or where continued access may create a risk to children, Parents, other users, VerifiedCoaches, or the integrity of the Platform.

10.3During suspension, VerifiedCoaches may cancel or pause future bookings, restrict communications, request evidence, preserve records, withhold payouts, and refer matters to relevant authorities where appropriate.

10.4Following review, VerifiedCoaches may reactivate your profile, reactivate it subject to conditions, issue a warning, extend the suspension, reduce visibility, or terminate your account.

11Termination

11.1Termination is the permanent closure or removal of your Coach account or profile from the Platform.

11.2VerifiedCoaches may terminate your account immediately where you commit a serious or repeated breach of these Coach Terms, the Platform Terms, or the Safeguarding Policy; where you provide false, misleading, altered, expired, or fraudulent documents or profile information; where you engage in serious misconduct, safeguarding breach, unsafe practice, abusive conduct, discrimination, harassment, or conduct that brings VerifiedCoaches into disrepute; where you solicit or accept off-platform bookings or payments from Parents or Players introduced through the Platform; where you fail to cooperate with an investigation; or where you are no longer suitable, eligible, insured, qualified, or legally permitted to provide coaching services through the Platform.

11.3VerifiedCoaches may also terminate your account after two or more suspensions within a 12-month period, depending on the nature of the issues and any risk to children or users.

11.4You may terminate your account at any time by notifying VerifiedCoaches in writing at hello@verifiedcoaches.co.uk. You must honour all confirmed bookings unless they are cancelled through the Platform.

12Effect of Suspension or Termination

12.1Upon suspension or termination, you may lose access to bookings, messaging, profile features, search visibility, and other Platform functions.

12.2Subject to clause 12.3, you will receive outstanding payouts for completed Sessions, less any refunds, chargebacks, payment processor fees, deductions, set-offs, or amounts owed to VerifiedCoaches or Parents.

12.3VerifiedCoaches may withhold, delay, or set off any payout where reasonably necessary due to refunds, chargebacks, suspected fraud, safeguarding investigation, breach of these Coach Terms, unresolved complaints, legal risk, or losses caused to VerifiedCoaches, Parents, Players, or other users.

12.4Termination does not affect rights and obligations that accrued before termination, including confidentiality, intellectual property, non-solicitation, payment, dispute, safeguarding, investigation, and record-retention obligations.

13Governing Law

13.1These Coach Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

13.2The courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or in connection with these Coach Terms.