Privacy Policy

What is data protection?

There are lots of ways that we might get some information about you, either from you or from other people. When you play in FA competitions, come to FA events, go on our websites, or like our social media posts – you’ll probably be telling us something about you! It’s really normal for organisations to use information about people, but it’s also really important that we look after that information because it’s private to you. There are lots of laws to protect your information and we make sure that we look after it very carefully. This policy will tell you more about how we do that.

What sort of information will you collect about me and why?

We’ll collect different types of information about you depending on why we might need it. To give you an idea, it might include:

Your name

First and last name so we know who you are and what to call you when you’re using our services, attending events or entering competitions.

Your age

We might ask you when you were born so we can provide you with the right services or to make sure you’re entering the right competitions for your age group.

Information so we can get in touch with you

This might include an email or home address so we can send you the stuff you’ve asked for.

Your parent/guardian’s information

Just in case we need to ask their permission for something where you’re under 16 years old.

Anything we need to get things right or look after you

If you’re coming to an FA event that could be something like your kit size, any food you’re allergic to or any medical issues we need to know about to keep you safe.

Information you’ve given to us

That could be feedback you send us, comments or ‘likes’ on our social media posts, or anything else you tell us or ask us to do.

Information other people give to us

This might include your club, your football stats, or even information about your school. This could be information that we get from your club, the league you play in, your school or your parents. Sometimes another company we work with might also share some information about you, but only where they’ve told you about it or you and your parent or guardian have agreed.

Photographs and video

If you attend an FA event we often take some photos or videos, and you might be in one of those! Sometimes we might also turn up at a non-FA event that you take part in and take some photos or videos there to. We’ll only use these photos or videos though if we’ve told you about it and your parent or guardian have said we can.

CCTV

We also take CCTV recordings of our events to keep everyone safe, and you might be in those recordings too (along with everyone else in the crowd!)

What are ‘cookies’?

Good question! Cookies are a little file which asks if it can be placed on your computer. If you say yes, it will remember useful information and can help you use our websites. We also use them to understand how good our websites are and to improve them. Don’t worry though, other than those cookies we absolutely need, we will only place cookies on your computer if you say we can. For more information on these cookies, you or your parent or guardian can look at our Cookies Policy.

Are you allowed to collect and use information about me?

The law says that we can, but only where we really need to and have a good reason to do it. There are lots of reasons we might need to collect or use your information and we’d never do it if the law said that we couldn’t. Just so you know, we are allowed to use your information:

• where you or your parent/guardian have told us we can;
• where we have agreed something with you and we need to use your information to keep that promise;
• to look after you and keep you safe;
• where the law tells us we have to; and
• where it benefits us, you, or both of us – and we’re sure it’s fair on you.

Does some of my information get even more protection?

Yes, it does. Information which tells us something about your health, your race or your religion (as well as other special types of information) have extra protection under the law and we need an even better reason to use it. Usually, we will only collect and use this special information where you’ve told us we can, but sometimes we might have to use it in an emergency or to keep you safe.

Do you share my information with anyone else?

Sometimes – but only where it’s fair and there’s a good reason to do it. Here are a few examples of when we might share some of your information:

• If you play football, we might share your information with your local County FA.
• If we are worried that you are unsafe, we might need to share your information with people who will use the information to make sure you’re not in danger.
• We might share your information with companies who hold events for us and companies who manage our services to make sure your experience is the best it can be.
• If you attend an FA event, or we attend an event you’re taking part in, your image might be part of photos and video that were taken. If your parents have agreed, we might share the photos and footage we collect to show others how great the event was and promote football.
• We might also share the photos and footage we collect with companies we have a close relationship with (we call these companies ‘FA Partners’), such as Pokémon and Weetabix, who also want to show others how great the event was.

Where does my information go?

Either we look after it on our own computer systems, or we use another company we trust to look after it for us. We make sure those companies look after your information in the same way that we would. Usually, your information is stored here in the UK but sometimes we might need to send it abroad. Whenever that happens, we make sure it is only sent somewhere safe and with lots of protections.

How long do you keep my information for?

We only keep your information for as long as we need it. When we don’t need it anymore we delete it. Depending on why we have it will depend on how long we keep it for. For example, if we need information about someone’s food allergies before an FA event, we would delete that quickly after the event because we wouldn’t need it anymore. We need to keep other information for longer though, like CCTV footage and recordings of phone calls.

Do I have any rights over my information?

Absolutely – you can ask us to:

• tell you what information we have about you
• send you a copy of your information
• stop using your information
• change your information
• delete your information The law around this is complicated and sometimes we can’t do it. But you should always ask us and if we can, we will.

How can I contact you?

If you want to speak to us you can email bigbearfootballcoaching@gmail.com

You should speak to your parent or guardian before contacting us to because they might want to help you or do it for you.