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Player Registrations

Tips, guidance and resources for Whole Game System

 Register your Players online

During the past few seasons, the FA have introduced the capability for Leagues to use the Whole Game System (WGS) for their player registrations. Across Berks & Bucks, around two thirds of Leagues are now using the system for registrations, meaning that the majority of Clubs in the county have registered at least some of their players on WGS.

At the end of the 2017-18 season, Clubs & Leagues across the county were given the opportunity to provide feedback about the system through a survey. Of the 13 respondents, 100% agreed that they would recommend using WGS for player registrations to other Clubs & Leagues not using it. A number of benefits were highlighted, as well as a few suggested improvements. The FA are continually looking at ways of enhancing the system & improving the user experience for Club & League volunteers.

Benefits of Player Registration

- Secure storage of player records
- Records updated annually, creating a lasting history for each player
- Club and Team records available for league registration processes (where appropriate)
- More efficient club discipline management
- Use of the FA number (FAN) to create a single player view – particularly for those clubs using Full-Time
- Providing your club with better player information to help you plan for the future

An interactive e-learning resource explains the player registration process on WGS step-by-step & can be accessed here:League Registration Process 

This goes through the key steps in registering a player:

Searching for & adding the player  confirming/requesting consent from the player  assigning the player to a team within the Club  completing any League requirements (ID check, Photo etc.)  submitting the registration to the League

error messages

This is when the below error message appears having tried to search with the Player’s name & DOB:

Error Messages - 0 Contact Found1.

If you have more details (email address, phone number, previous Club), you can add these to the search to try to find the Player. However, if this still returns 0 contacts, please either:

If you are fairly certain that the Player will have a FAN (FA Number) having played for another Club, please email PlayerRegistrations@Berks-BucksFA.com with the Player’s Name & DOB, explaining the error message that is showing. An individual at the County FA will then be able to advise as to whether the Player has a record on the system.

If you are fairly certain that the Player will not have a FAN, please create a record for the individual by clicking Create New Player (shown below in green):

Error Messages - 0 Contact Found2

This is when the below error message appears having tried to search with the Player’s name/FAN & DOB:

Error Messages - Semi-Professional Association
 
The reason for this error message is that the Player will either currently or previously have been registered/held a role with a Club at STEP 4 or above. To resolve this, please email PlayerRegistrations@Berks-BucksFA.com with the Player’s name & DOB, as well as mentioning the error message that has come up. An individual at the County FA will then be able to assist with this.

This is when the below error message appears having tried to search with the Player’s name & DOB:

Error Messages - Multiple FANs 
The reason for this error message is that the Player will most likely have multiple FANs on the system. Please email PlayerRegistrations@Berks-BucksFA.com with the Player’s name, DOB & postcode explaining the error message showing. An individual at the County FA will then be able to look into this. If the Player has multiple FANs, they will then be scheduled to merge together & the Club will be informed which FAN they can add the Player with. The merge will take up to 48 hours to take effect.

This is when the below error message appears having tried to detach a player:

Error Messages - Detaching a player

A Club will not be able to detach/remove a Player if they have an approved League registration for the current season. To be able to detach the Player, the Club need to request that the League cancel the registration; if actioned, the Club will then be able to detach the Player.

Top tips to remember

If you notice that a Player’s Name or DOB has been entered incorrectly (or needs updating), please email PlayerRegistrations@Berks-BucksFA.com with the Player’s FAN & the amendment to be made. Clubs are not able to amend a Player’s name or DOB on WGS.

Both Clubs & Leagues have the option to filter their Players’ list through a number of options (Team, Consent, League Registration etc.). This can be done by clicking on the selected option in the filters bar & then choosing the selected criteria:

Top Tips - Filtering

These filters will remain in place until you manually change the filters (even if you log out & back in). Therefore, if you can’t see players that you expect to be able to see in the Players’ list, it will be worth clicking clear filters (in green) to ensure that no filters are in operation.

When adding a Player to a Club, a notice of approach &/or a transfer may be required if they are registered with another Club. A notice of approach & transfer are not the same:

A notice of approach is required when a Club wish to add a Player who is already registered with another Club who contain teams that play on the same day as themselves. For instance, if a Club who only contain teams that play on Sundays try to add a Player who is registered for a Club who contain teams that play on both Saturdays & Sundays, a notice of approach will be required, regardless of which teams the Player is/will be assigned to. A notice of approach can be waived by the served Club on WGS, which will then allow the initiating Club to add the Player. If it is not waived, the initiating Club will be able to add the Player after seven days have passed since generating the notice of approach.

A transfer is only required when a Club wish to assign a Player to a team who play in the same League (& on the same day) as another team that the Player is already registered with. The transfer is generated when assigning the Player to a team & will then require approval from the League on WGS.

The system works out whether a notice of approach & transfer are required when adding the Player to the Club & assigning the Player to a team. If a notice of approach or transfer is generated, the progress of this can then be viewed in the Transfers or Notices of Approach sections:

Top Tips - Notices of Approach & Transfers

 

International clearance is dealt with by the FA. Please see the below document for more information. To request international clearance for a Player or more information, please contact Registrations@thefa.com

Useful Contacts

Please email PlayerRegistrations@Berks-BucksFA.com with any queries surrounding player registrations relating to Berks & Bucks FA affiliated Clubs and Leagues.

The FA Technology Team can also be reached on playerregistrations@thefa.com


One-Page Guidance Notes

The FA have put together a number of useful one-page guidance notes, which can be found below, including how to set up a parent record & the online consent process.