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    CMFSC Social Media Guidelines

    Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc.) plays an important role in engagement, promotion, and awareness of CMFSC activities and team management and organization. 

    BC Soccer, who ultimately governs CMFSC, has enacted policies around the use of Social Media: 

    If these tools are not used in an appropriate and respectful way, they may give rise to complaints from individuals or organization alleging violations of relevant BC Soccer Rules, Regulations and Policies, including complaints that individuals are not acting in the best interest of the game of soccer or are demonstrating unethical (ungentlemanly) conduct and or behaviour.  In the case of soccer in BC, if complaints are brought to the attention of BC Soccer and, following applicable disciplinary procedures, inappropriate behaviour is proven, a number of sanctions are available ranging from formal warnings to suspensions from all soccer related activities, depending on the severity of the incident. Examples of actions that BC Soccer deem inappropriate include: 

    • Comments that bring the game into disrepute or are ungentlemanly 

    • Abuse of individuals by means of racist, sexist or ageist comments 

    • Abuse of individuals by means of insult or threat 

    • Abuse of players or officials in comments that are deemed personally insulting or damaging 

    ( BC Soccer Social Media Guidelines – 2015-02-16) 

    As a result of the BC Soccer directive, CMFSC has adopted the following Social Media Guidelines recommended by BC Soccer with editing to reflect our individual club requirements. These guidelines apply to all members of the club (Players, Parents, Team Staff, Referees, Executive, Technical Staff and any other Staff): 

    1. British Columbia is a multicultural and diverse society and it is important to be aware of and respect this diversity when posting online. Respect all ethnicities and always be conscious of how others will receive your message – remember your message is not bound by borders and is a permanent record. 

    2. Never post or comment on discipline issues, legal issues, media related issues or potential crisis issues without authorization to do so from the CMFSC Executive. Media are constantly patrolling various social media sites and they will not hesitate to comment or even put your post on-air if it relates to a controversial subject. The CMFSC Media Spokesperson is the Club President or his/her designate and members are not to act as a spokesperson without the expressed consent of the President. Please remember, during a crisis or media event every employee or volunteer who feels it necessary to speak to the media or post about the event becomes the spokesperson whether they want to or not. 

    3. Transparency is extremely important. If you post incorrect information, try to be the first to correct it and never intentionally omit information or cover up an issue. 

    4. Social Media is a tool that can be used by everyone to help promote the sport of soccer but always remember to use your common sense when posting. If you are at all unsure about your post or comment you must check with the CMFSC President before posting to ensure it adheres to our guidelines. 

    5. You are responsible for your actions – Always think about how your post will affect your team, teammates, team officials, CMFSC as an organization, BC Soccer, Canada Soccer or FIFA. Although individuals have an important right of freedom of speech, by virtue of your involvement in BC Soccer you are subject to certain limits on that right where your comments relate to BC Soccer matters. 

    Where comments on a public forum such as Twitter or Facebook are in violation of the Rules and Regulations of BC Soccer that apply to all members and participants in BC Soccer sanctioned events, there can be repercussions for you and CMFSC, particularly where comments are directed against individuals, could be deemed to be improper, may bring the game into disrepute, or are threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting. 

    In addition, re-tweeting another person’s posting may lead to disciplinary action if the original comment was improper. 

    Any violation of the BC Soccer or CMFSC guidelines brought to the attention of the Executive will be investigated and submitted to the President for consideration. 

    6. Content posted on social media channels is permanent – When posting to any Social Media the content in which you put out is permanent – even if you quickly remove your post, it may already be too late. 

    What you say on Social Media may be viewed all around the world instantly even if you don’t have many ‘followers’. One ‘retweet’ by someone else could mean a comment is instantly communicated to a far wider audience. 

    Finally, deleting an inappropriate posting, while advisable, does not necessarily prevent disciplinary action being taken. 

    7. Others will associate you with CMFSC – Even if you are posting on a personal social media site, the public will associate you with CMFSC and therefore you will be viewed as speaking on behalf of the club. 

    Discipline: Failing to abide by the CMFSC Social Media Policy and BC Soccer Guidelines may result in a range of disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the club and reporting to BC Soccer for consideration of other sanctions.  

    DISCLAIMER: Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club is not responsible for monitoring the appropriate usage of various Social Media platforms by members. Each platform has an age restriction and code of conduct that should be monitored by parents/guardians. 

    PDF COPY CMFSC Member Social Media Guidelines