The Pro Soccer Chaplains Association (PSCA) is a collective of ministries dedicated to serving those working/competing in the professional soccer space. PSCA chaplains seek to serve the spiritual, emotional, social, and mental health needs of all players and staff, regardless of their spiritual or religious background.

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The Association’s Role

The PSCA is a collective of ministries committed to work together with agreed to standards that support, encourage and edify each other to best serve the players, coaches and staff of professional soccer. While the PSCA is not a “governing body” with the authority to dictate actions to any ministry group or individual chaplain, we can establish best practice standards and provide the resources to help both chaplain and club be successful. We do this through three distinct strategic imperatives:

- The PSCA seeks to create a supportive TEAM for soccer chaplains. To provide opportunities that facilitate a sense of partnership among chaplains.
- We accomplish this by holding regularly scheduled virtual meetings and in-person regional gatherings.
The PSCA creates resources, and shares best practices, to educate PSCA chaplains to better serve their club.
- This includes providing guest speakers from successful clubs, creating a repository of resources, facilitating the sharing of best practices, etc.
The PSCA sets the standard for chaplains. Currently, PSCA chaplains are asked to:
- Be affiliated with one of the founding member organizations and accountable to uphold the values of their organization as well as the standards of the PSCA.
- To complete a background check with their respective member organization and to participate in additional screening at the request of the club they serve.
- To complete SafeSport training annually.
- To provide their club with the contact information of their organization’s supervisor.
- To participate in PSCA ongoing virtual and in-person trainings.

The Chaplain’s Role

A chaplain’s role and responsibilities will vary by club. The PCSA recommends that all aspects of the chaplain’s role be discussed prior to serving and regularly reviewed by the club’s assigned contact.

- Many players benefit from participating in a pre-game chapel and/or Bible study to prepare themselves for the time before, during and after competition.
Professional sports and all that comes with it can present real and ongoing challenges for players and staff. Research has shown:
- 35% of elite athletes suffer a mental health crisis, which may appear as stress, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, or drug use.
- 58% of young adults (18-25) say they lack "meaning or purpose."
- 45% of professional athletes struggle with anxiety & depression.
- Manchester United reported in May 2021 that their analysis had found that there had been a 350% increase in social media abuse directed towards its players since September 2019.
An available chaplain cannot solve these societal challenges, but they can serve as a resource to help an athlete navigate through them.
The following areas are commonly addressed under the careful counsel & guidance of chaplains:
- Anxiety, Burnout, Depression, Dating, Engagement, Marriage, Living Away From Home, Living In Another Culture, Having Difficult Conversations with Teammates, Coaches, and Agents, Parenting Financial Budgeting, Time Management, Finding Inner Joy and Peace, Media Consumption and Addiction, Financial Planning and Stewardship, Grief and Loss, Finding Purpose, Combating Fear, Living According to One's Values, Growing Closer to God, Prayer, Meditation, and Mindfulness, Addressing Shame and Guilt, Transfers & Trades.
PSCA chaplains seek to improve their ability to serve their club by:
- Being affiliated with one of the founding member organizations and accountable to uphold their values as well as the standards of the PSCA.
- By regularly meeting with their founding member organization, as well as their pro soccer chaplain peers, to seek out best practices and learning.
- By regularly attending PSCA training calls and attending in-person regional training gatherings