ALERT - June 8, 2017

The ORFA continues to monitor and share information related to incidents and accidents involving portable soccer goals. Portable soccer goals can have a dry weight that may exceed 227 kilograms (500lbs). The weight and design often creates a “tip hazard” if improperly secured. Tipping can occur from strong gusts of winds, or when persons climb or hang from them.

The ORFA joins soccer governing bodies in advocating for portable soccer goalposts to be anchored as an industry best practice. Portable goals may only be used if they satisfy this requirement. To assist in user and public safety, the ORFA recommends that members and owners of the field (typically the municipality), create and adopt policy and procedures that will ensure that portable soccer goals are always secured using the goal manufacturers recommended procedures. This may include, but not be limited to, anchoring stakes and/or counter weights.

The care and control of portable soccer goals are a known death and/or injury hazard and the following industry best practices should be considered:

Recommended Best Practices:

• Review the manufacturers installation procedures and current operational practices to ensure that portable goalposts are properly secured or counterweighted.
• Where there are known hazards, post warning labels that are clearly visible advising users of these risks.
• Remove or secure portable goalposts when they are not in use and fully disassemble for seasonal storage.
• Ensure that staff are properly trained to conduct routine inspections of all structures and areas of the sports field; this is especially important to do before any scheduled soccer activities.
• When removing anchors from soccer goals for grass cutting, be sure to instruct maintenance staff to replace soccer goal anchors.
• Movable soccer goals should only be used on level/flat playing fields.

Most Recent Fatality:

May 2017 - Teen dies in Napanee, Ontario after tipping of an unanchored soccer net  > More

Other Related Information:

• July 2014 - Teen dies in Bradford, Ontario after becoming trapped under the crossbar of soccer net  >More
• July 2012 - Yukon officials try to make soccer fields safer: 5-year-old Watson Lake girl is not the first fatality from tipped soccer nets  > More
• July 2011 - Risk of unanchored soccer nets: The City of Charlottetown is now in the process of anchoring all its under 12 soccer nets following a complaint from a parent  > More
• FIFA Guidelines – "Never leave a goal unsecured. Portable goals which are left unsecured can tip over inuring players, in particular children, and cause serious neck injuries or even a fatality. These injuries only occur during unsupervised play by children climbing on unsecured goals."(FIFA) > More
• ThinkFirst Foundation of Canada Smart Soccer Guide  > More
• US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – Guidelines for Movable Soccer Goal Safety >More
• ASTM Standard for Movable Soccer Goals ASTM F1938-38 (2009) > More
• ASTM F2673-08 (Withdrawn 2017) Standard Safety Specification for Special Tip-Resistant Movable Soccer Goals  > More
• Product Safety Australian Anchor, Check, Respect: The game plan for moveable soccer goal safety  > More
• Anchored for Safety - goal warning labels > More