Safeguarding Policy

Pitchwise exists to capture and celebrate grassroots football. Much of that football involves children and young people. We take that responsibility seriously and have designed our platform, policies, and team culture around keeping young people safe.

This policy sets out our approach to safeguarding and the expectations we have of everyone who uses Pitchwise.

1. Our commitment

Pitchwise is committed to:

• The welfare and safety of all children and young people who appear in content on our platform
• Giving teams, clubs, and parents meaningful control over how footage is recorded, stored, and shared
• Operating in line with the FA’s safeguarding guidelines and UK child protection legislation
• Responding quickly and appropriately to any safeguarding concern raised by a user, parent, or organisation

2. Consent for filming

Recording youth football matches requires proper consent. Pitchwise provides the technology, but the responsibility for obtaining consent sits with the team, club, or individual operating the camera.

We expect all users to:

• Be transparent — always inform both teams and the referee that you are recording before the match starts. Transparency is a key part of GDPR compliance
• Obtain consent from parents or guardians before filming matches involving children under 18
• Follow their club, league, or county FA’s photography and filming policies
• Respect any request from a parent, guardian, player, or referee to not be recorded, and take reasonable steps to comply (see “stop requests” below)
• Review before posting — because the camera follows play, it may capture close-ups unintentionally. You must review every clip before posting publicly. Do not publicly post clips where a child is clearly identifiable unless you have appropriate written permission
• Not upload footage to public channels without appropriate consent

Footage may also be used to help train and improve Pitchwise’s AI models for sports action and event recognition. For players under 18, this only happens with explicit opt-in consent from a parent or guardian — see our privacy policy for full details.

We provide guidance and template consent forms to help teams manage this process. Contact us at info@pitchwise.uk if you need support.

3. Junior referees and minors

Grassroots football often involves junior referees. Extra care is required:

• You must not publicly post clips where a junior referee is clearly identifiable or the main focus, unless you have appropriate written consent
• The same applies to any minor — do not publicly post clips where a child is clearly identifiable without written permission from their parent or guardian (FA Guidance 8.3)
• Private vs public — team-only sharing for match analysis is lower risk, but public posting (social media, public links) is treated much more strictly. If in doubt, keep it private

4. Respecting “stop” requests

If a referee, parent, or player asks you not to record them, do not argue.

If the person is uncomfortable with the camera running at all, you must turn it off immediately. We respect the individual’s choice over the footage.

5. Content visibility and controls

Pitchwise gives teams control over who can see their content:

• Match recordings can be set to private (team members only), unlisted (link-only access), or public
• Team admins control the default visibility for their team
• Individual clips and highlights inherit the match’s visibility setting unless changed
• Parents and guardians can request removal of content featuring their child

6. Content moderation

We monitor content on the platform and will remove any material that:

• Depicts, encourages, or facilitates abuse or exploitation of any kind
• Is used to bully, harass, or humiliate any person, particularly a child
• Has been uploaded without appropriate consent
• Violates our terms of service

We act on reports promptly. Content that raises a safeguarding concern will be removed immediately while we investigate.

7. Reporting a concern

If you have a safeguarding concern about content on Pitchwise, or about how Pitchwise is being used, please contact us immediately:

We treat all safeguarding reports confidentially and will respond within 24 hours. Where appropriate, we will involve the relevant authorities, including the police, local authority, or the FA.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. You can also contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or the FA safeguarding team.

8. Our team

Everyone at Pitchwise understands their safeguarding responsibilities. As we grow, team members in relevant roles will undergo DBS checks and safeguarding training appropriate to their position.

9. Working with clubs, leagues, and FAs

We work alongside the football community, not above it. Clubs and leagues using Pitchwise retain responsibility for their own safeguarding procedures. We support this by:

• Aligning our policies with FA safeguarding guidance
• Providing privacy and visibility controls that meet club-level requirements
• Cooperating fully with any safeguarding investigation that involves Pitchwise content
• Updating our approach as guidance and best practice evolve

10. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy as our product and safeguarding practices develop. Significant changes will be communicated to users. The “last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.