TidyHQ vs Affinity Sports
Last reviewed April 2026
Affinity Sports is the legacy soccer federation platform from Stack Sports — it was the US Youth Soccer platform for years before USYS transitioned to GotSport in 2018-2019. Some state associations and leagues still use Affinity for registration and competition flow. TidyHQ runs the layer your committee owns — memberships, finances, governance, comms — alongside whatever federation platform is upstream. The question worth asking before signup is what your federation can see when both platforms are in play.
Where TidyHQ wins
What your committee runs separately from the federation. Members, finances, communications, events, meetings, and documents stay inside your tenant. Federations see only what your committee elects to send through TidyConnect: who holds what role, your answers to Project Tasks, scoped comments.
Plus the full club admin layer Affinity doesn't focus on — financial reporting with Xero sync (plus QuickBooks CSV export), meeting minutes with action items, role-based task assignment, committee handover, 25 GB document storage, and Apple / Google Wallet digital membership cards.
Where Affinity Sports wins
Affinity Sports has been the registration backbone for soccer federations for years. State associations and leagues still running Affinity have battle-tested workflows, established player and referee ID flows, and US Soccer Federation reporting tied to it. If your league or state association has chosen to stay on Affinity rather than migrate to GotSport, the platform handles the federation handoff competently.
Best for
Soccer clubs whose state association or league still runs on Affinity Sports and aren't migrating to GotSport. Many such clubs run TidyHQ alongside Affinity for the club-side admin (memberships, finances, governance) that Affinity doesn't cover.
Feature comparison
Built for
TidyHQ
The committee that runs the clubAffinity Sports
The federation / state association that runs registrationWho funds it
TidyHQ
Your club, directlyAffinity Sports
Typically the federation or state associationFederation sees member contact details by default
TidyHQ
✗ Stays inside your tenantAffinity Sports
Structural visibilityFederation sees club financials by default
TidyHQ
✗ Stays inside your tenantAffinity Sports
Structural visibilityFederation integration model
TidyHQ
TidyConnect — consent-scoped per ProjectAffinity Sports
Native parent-tenant — visibility default-onStack Sports portfolio sibling
TidyHQ
Independent productAffinity Sports
GotSport is the modern Stack Sports successorYear-round membership lifecycle
TidyHQ
Renewals, tiers, family membershipsAffinity Sports
Season-bound registrationsNative accounting integration
TidyHQ
Xero (two-way sync) + QuickBooks CSV exportAffinity Sports
Digital membership cards (Apple / Google Wallet)
TidyHQ
Auto-updating, custom backfieldsAffinity Sports
Federation-issued player ID cardsCommittee governance (minutes, agendas, tasks)
TidyHQ
Action items assigned to rolesAffinity Sports
Email + SMS to full membership
TidyHQ
With status segmentationAffinity Sports
Limited to competition workflowsDocument storage
TidyHQ
25 GB, private by defaultAffinity Sports
Free tier for clubs
TidyHQ
Full features, no expiryAffinity Sports
Free at point of use; federation pays licenceKey differences
Your federation is an affiliation partner, not a parent
When the federation owns the software, they own the relationship. Affinity's default is structural visibility — your state association sees member records, registrations, finances, custom fields, comms, and audit logs without asking.
TidyHQ defaults the other way. Federations see what your committee chooses to share through a TidyConnect Project. The platform takes a hand in the politics either way. We picked the side where the committee draws the line.
The promise your committee made to members holds
Every parent who hands over a child's contact details, a medical flag, a payment, did it on the committee's word. The promise has a perimeter the committee drew. Software either respects that perimeter or quietly redraws it. By the time a club notices the redraw, the trust is already spent.
Built for the club, not the legacy federation system
Affinity has years of federation registration workflows baked in. TidyHQ's strength is what happens inside a single club — dues, fees, committee meetings, AGM prep, governance documents, and Xero sync for the treasurer (plus QuickBooks CSV export). If your federation still uses Affinity, TidyHQ fills the gap on the club-side operations Affinity doesn't cover.
Stack Sports portfolio context
Affinity Sports and GotSport are both part of the Stack Sports portfolio. GotSport is the modern successor; Affinity continues for federations and state associations that haven't migrated. Both have the same federation-parent-tenant architecture. TidyHQ's autonomy story applies the same way to either: your committee decides what leaves the room.
What Affinity Sports does well
Affinity Sports has been the registration backbone for soccer federations for years. State associations and leagues still running Affinity have battle-tested workflows, established player and referee ID flows, and US Soccer Federation reporting tied to it. If your league or state association has chosen to stay on Affinity rather than migrate to GotSport, the platform handles the federation handoff competently.
We think honest comparisons build more trust than pretending competitors don’t exist. Try both and see which one your committee actually uses.
Is TidyHQ right for you?
TidyHQ is the better choice if…
- Your committee wants member data, finances, and comms inside the club — not inside the federation
- You need governance tools — meeting minutes, tasks, document storage, committee handovers
- Your treasurer needs Xero integration to stop double data entry
- You want a free tier with unlimited contacts to get started without commitment
- You run events beyond competition fixtures — clinics, fundraisers, club socials
Affinity Sports might be better if…
- •Your state association or league has chosen to stay on Affinity rather than migrate to GotSport
- •You need legacy US Soccer Federation reporting and player ID flows tied to Affinity
- •Your entire club operation is competition flow with no separate administrative life
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about using Affinity Sports vs TidyHQ for membership organisations.
Only what your committee accepts into a TidyConnect Project. That includes who holds what Role in connected orgs, whether you accepted or rejected an invitation, your answers to specific Project Tasks, and any task comments your committee scopes to "project organisers and my club". Plus a sanitised activity signal.
Member contact details, finances, comms, events, meetings, documents, shop transactions, and internal tasks stay inside your tenant by default.
You typically don't get to choose — your federation or state association picks. Most US Youth Soccer associations migrated from Affinity to GotSport in 2018-2019. Some state associations and leagues are still on Affinity. Both are Stack Sports products with the same federation-parent-tenant architecture, and TidyHQ runs alongside either the same way.
Not as far as we know. Stack Sports continues to operate Affinity Sports for the state associations and leagues that still use it, even as GotSport is the strategic forward platform. If your federation is on Affinity, you can expect continued operation in the near term — but a future migration to GotSport is a real possibility worth planning for.
No. Most clubs we work with run both. Your federation decides what runs in Affinity — typically competition registrations and the federation fee handoff. Your committee decides what runs in TidyHQ — year-round memberships, finances, communications, governance, events, and documents.
Not natively. Clubs typically move registration data between the two systems via CSV export from Affinity and import into TidyHQ. We're happy to point new customers at proven approaches.
Sources
Claims in this comparison are based on publicly available information. Verify current pricing and features directly with each provider.
- 1TidyConnect — how clubs federate with governing bodies— Consent-scoped Project-based federation model. The architecture underneath the autonomy claim.
- 2GotSport (modern Stack Sports product)— The successor platform US Youth Soccer migrated to in 2018-2019.
- 3Affinity Sports official site— Stack Sports legacy federation platform
Related comparisons
Other Sport Federation Platforms alternatives we’ve written about.