St. Petersburg Football Club Safe Place
Safe Place is St. Petersburg Football Club’s comprehensive safeguarding program to prevent abusive behavior within the St. Petersburg community. It is designed to inform our community about safeguarding programs and provide clear procedures for reporting and responding to allegations of abuse, harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct.
St. Petersburg Football Club is a culture of safety and respect. We encourage open communication in which all athletes, coaches, staff members, and families feel empowered to report concerns, whether the concerns involve suspected abuse, misconduct, or violations of the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (“MAAPP”).
Note SPFC will be referencing the USL Safeguarding policy when addressing any incident.
Click HERE for more information about the USL Safeguarding Policy:
St. Petersburg Football Club prohibits retaliatory action being taken against anyone who reports concerns in good faith.
If you have an immediate concern regarding imminent risk of harm to someone, please contact 911 or local law enforcement.
Anti-Harassment Policy
No player, parent, volunteer, or employee of St. Petersburg Football Club (SPFC) during SPFC activities will engage in any form of harassment on and OR off the field. For clarification, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying include, but are not limited to, any written, verbal or physical act, or any electronic communication, shown to be motivated by an individual’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry or ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability, gender, gender identity and expression, or other distinguishing personal characteristics, or based on association with any person identified above, even in jest.
Hazing means any conduct or method of initiation, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any player or other person. Such conduct shall include whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to the weather, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug or other substance, or any other brutal treatment or forced physical activity which is likely to adversely affect the physical health or safety of any such student or other person, or which subjects such student or other person to extreme mental stress, including extended deprivation of sleep or rest or extended isolation. Consent shall not be available as a defense to any prosecution under this action.
Furthermore, no player, parent, volunteer, or employee of St. Petersburg Football Club shall engage in, or knowingly tolerate, any such behavior harassment, intimidation, hazing, bullying, or cyberbullying on or off the field as it relates to any teammates, other youth teams, referees, coaches, etc.
St. Petersburg Football Club Board of Directors will respond quickly to all allegations of harassment within the organization. Any violation of this policy may involve a disciplinary hearing and/or action, including suspension or expulsion from St. Petersburg Football Club.
Reporting Concerns
St. Petersburg Football Club safeguard reporting channels are operated by a 3rd party and submissions are available to report 24/7. You can submit a report online at this link.
If you are unsure whether you should report a concern or want to talk about your concern before making a report, please contact our third party at: gw2investigations@gmail.com.
Sexual Misconduct or SafeSport Prohibitive Conduct Violations must be reported to the U.S Center for SafeSport via secure online form or by contacting 835-587-7233.
To make a report to U.S. Soccer, contact their Integrity Hotline 312-528-7008 or by secure online form.