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Player registration, FANs and Club Portal: a guide for parents

In England, clubs submit player registrations to their league through The FA's Club Portal. For a parent, that can mean an email asking for consent, a request for player information, and later a status called Pending League that nobody explains.

This guide explains what is happening at each step, what you need to do, and what to do when it does not work.

The FA updates its registration systems between seasons. If a screen looks different from what is described here, the FA Grassroots Technology help pages carry the current steps.

Information checked on

A folding table on mown grass with an open laptop, a clipboard and a pen on it, a football beneath it and a small goal in the distance.

The short version

  • Your child has an FA Number, called a FAN, which stays with them from club to club. If they already have one, do not create another.
  • You need your own FA account, linked to your child. That account is how you give consent and sign in to Matchday.
  • The club adds your child in Club Portal, collects consent, completes anything the league requires and submits the registration.
  • Online consent lasts five years. A signed paper form has to be renewed every season.
  • Pending League means the registration has been submitted and is awaiting league action.
  • If an email does not arrive, ask the club which email address they have linked to your child.

Your FAN, your account and your child's record

A FAN is the individual number The FA uses to record everyone involved in football: players, coaches, referees and officials. It stays with your child if they move clubs.

You need an FA account of your own too. Signing in at My Account (opens in a new tab) shows the children linked to you and every club you have given consent to. If your child does not yet have a FAN, you can add them there and a FAN is generated for them.

The rule to remember is not to create a second record for a child who already has a FAN. If you know the FAN, some FA flows let you link that existing record yourself. If it does not appear or will not link, ask the club to check the existing FAN or use The FA support route. If you are not sure whether a FAN already exists, ask the club to search before anybody creates a new player.

How the club registers your child

This is the club's job, but knowing the steps tells you where things have got stuck. Clubs register players in Club Portal, which has replaced the Whole Game System for grassroots clubs.

The club starts by adding your child, in one of three ways. The FA's guidance (opens in a new tab) recommends the first two, because they avoid creating duplicate records.

  • Searching for an existing player. If your child already has an FA record, the club finds it and adds them. You get an email saying they have been added.
  • Sending an invite. For a child under 16, the club sends the invite to your email. Following the link (opens in a new tab), you sign in or create an account, confirm you are signing on for your child, check their details, give consent, and say whether international clearance is needed.
  • Creating a new player. Used when your child has no FA record at all.

After that, the registration steps (opens in a new tab) are the same whichever route was used:

  • Consent, if it was not given in the invite. Either you sign a paper form, which has to be done again every season, or you give it online, which lasts five years.
  • Assigning to a team. The club picks the team or teams your child will play for. The system only offers teams your child is eligible for.
  • Anything the league requires. Some leagues require a photo, which has to be a clear head and shoulders shot or the system rejects it. An ID check is also completed before submission where the league requires one.
  • Submitting to the league. Your child then shows as Pending League until the league approves the registration.

Giving online consent

If the club uses online consent, you will get an email from The FA. The FA's guide for parents (opens in a new tab) covers the steps:

  • Open the email and click Manage My Consent.
  • Sign in with your FA account.
  • At the top of the page, switch from yourself to your child.
  • Find the team and click Give Consent, then Confirm. The box turns green and shows the date consent was given.

If the email has not arrived, check your spam folder, then ask the club which email address is linked to your child and whether they can resend it. You can also go straight to the consent page (opens in a new tab) and sign in there.

The Matchday app

Clubs use the FA Matchday app for availability, team selection and, at some clubs, payments. It uses the same login as your FA account (opens in a new tab). If you can sign in but cannot see your child's team, possible causes include the wrong parent or child FAN being linked, a duplicate FAN, or the child not being assigned or registered to the team. Ask the club to check the FAN link and team assignment before creating anything new.

Leaving a club, or changing your mind

You can remove online consent yourself, from the same page where you gave it, by clicking Remove from Club. The FA's guidance says that only works while your child is not league registered. Once they are, the club has to ask the league to cancel the registration first.

That is why a mid-season move needs the club's involvement even when the decision is yours. Our guide to changing football clubs covers the rest of that process.

When it goes wrong

  • No email. Check spam, then ask the club which address they have linked and whether it is spelled correctly.
  • Your child does not appear when you sign in. If your child already has a FAN, do not add them again as new. If you know the FAN, the FA invite flow may let you link it yourself; if it still does not appear, ask the club or use The FA support route.
  • Two FANs for one child. Do not create a third. Tell the club, which can raise it through The FA's support process.
  • You gave consent but your child still cannot play. Consent is only one step. Ask the club whether any league-required photo or ID checks are complete and whether the registration has actually been submitted.
  • Pending League for a long time. The action is with the league. Ask the club secretary or player-registration officer to check the submission rather than waiting for a separate parent update.

The FA also runs a help centre for its grassroots systems (opens in a new tab). For a parent, the club is the practical first contact because it controls the registration submission, while the help centre carries the current system guidance.

Elsewhere in the UK

Club Portal and FA consent are for football in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland register players through their own associations, so if you are playing there, your club will use a different system.

Common questions

What is a FAN?

An FA Number. It is the individual number The FA uses to record everyone in football, and it stays with your child if they move clubs. If your child already has one, do not create another.

What happened to the Whole Game System?

Grassroots clubs now register players through Club Portal, which took over the Whole Game System's registration functions. If a club or an older guide mentions the Whole Game System, the process it describes now happens in Club Portal.

Do I have to give consent every season?

Not if you give it online. Online consent lasts five years. A signed paper form has to be renewed every season.

What does Pending League mean?

The club has submitted the registration and the league has not yet approved it. Your child cannot be treated as league registered until it has.

Why does the club need a photo of my child?

Some leagues require one as part of registration, so that a player can be identified. It has to be a clear head and shoulders photo. Ask the club how it is stored and who can see it.

Can I withdraw consent?

Yes, from the consent page, while your child is not league registered. Once they are, the club has to ask the league to cancel the registration first.