Child safety standards

Our standard

Pitchside has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, and any attempt to contact a young player for sexual purposes or to traffic or exploit them through false promises of trials, contracts or travel.

Anyone who breaks this standard is removed from Pitchside permanently, and we report them to the authorities.

How Pitchside protects young players

• Players aged 13 to 17 need a parent or guardian to approve their account before it becomes visible.
• Under-18s are never shown to people who are signed out or haven't confirmed their email, and only their region is shown, never their town or exact age.
• Under-18s cannot send or receive private messages, from anyone. Only scouts checked by our moderators can contact a player, and requests about an under-18 go to their guardian, never the child.
• Under-18s only receive notifications from people they follow, verified scouts and moderators.
• Posts, replies and profiles that contain sexual content, or ask a young player for photos or to keep secrets, are refused before they are published.
• Messages that mention money, travel or moving to another app carry a visible warning and go to moderators.
• Anyone can block another account. Blocking hides both people from each other and stops all contact.
• Videos from under-18s play through links that expire, so they can't be copied and shared elsewhere.

Report a concern

• In the app: use Report on any post, profile or scout request. Reports are private and reviewed by a moderator, normally within 24 hours, and straight away when a child may be at risk.
• By email: safety@pitchsidegh.com. Our child safety lead, Pitchside safety lead, reads every message.
• If a child is in immediate danger, contact the Ghana Police Service. You can also call Ghana's Cyber Security Authority support line on 292 (24 hours) or report online at csa.gov.gh/report.

What we do when we receive a report

1. Remove the content and suspend the account involved while we investigate.
2. Preserve the evidence securely, without spreading it further.
3. Report child sexual abuse material and exploitation to the Ghana Police Service and the Cyber Security Authority, and to the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children where required.
4. Inform the guardian of any young player involved, where it is safe to do so.
5. Permanently ban accounts that break this standard.

Contact

Child safety lead: Pitchside safety lead, safety@pitchsidegh.com. See also how we keep players safe and our terms and privacy.