Safeguarding at FindMeFootball

Report a concern to us

If something on this website worries you — a listing, a club page, an organiser, a photo, anything — tell us.

Report a concern or email safeguarding@findmefootball.com

You can report anonymously. You do not need an account, and you do not have to explain who you are or why you are asking.

We aim to acknowledge safeguarding or welfare concerns within 2 working days. If something appears urgent or high-risk, we will escalate it as quickly as reasonably possible.

Who is responsible here

James McCall is FindMeFootball’s Welfare Officer and Safeguarding Lead. He has completed Level 3 Designated Safeguarding Lead training. He reads concerns raised with us and decides what happens to each one, including whether it needs to go to the police, a local authority, the NSPCC or a County FA.

Reports reach more than one person, so a concern does not sit unread because one person is away.

Our full safeguarding policy sets out how we work in detail.

What we are — and what we are not

Being straight about this matters more than sounding reassuring, because a parent who believes we have checked something we have not checked is worse off than one who knows we have not.

FindMeFootball is a website that publishes information about grassroots football events and the organisations that run them. That is all it is.

• We do not run any event listed here. Every event and club is run by somebody else, and they are responsible for it.
• We never meet or speak to a child. There is no messaging, chat or forum on this site, and no way for anyone to contact anyone else through it.
• We do not introduce, place or recommend a child to a club or a coach. We publish information; you decide what to do with it.
• We do not employ anyone who works with children, so there is nothing about us for a DBS check to cover.
• We do not inspect events, check DBS certificates, or verify a club’s safeguarding arrangements. Where a listing mentions those things, that is the organiser telling you about themselves — not us confirming it.
• We hold no information about any child. No names, no ages, no photographs, no medical details, nothing.

We hold nothing about your child

The strongest protection a site like this can offer is to never collect the information in the first place.

We neverstore a child’s name, date of birth, photograph, school, medical or dietary information, or any profile of a child — and there is nowhere in our systems to put any of it. Team entries on event pages show team and club names only.

If you save searches or a postcode to your account, those describe what you are looking for, not your child, and you can delete them yourself at any time.

What we do when you tell us something

We receive, record and refer. We are not a safeguarding authority and we do not investigate — we have no power to, and trying would risk getting in the way of somebody who does.

In practice that means we log what you tell us, our Welfare Officer decides how serious and how urgent it is, we pass it to the right external body where it needs to go, and where the concern is about something on this website we act on it — taking a listing down while it is looked at, removing an image, or correcting something that is wrong.

There is more detail on what we do with your details and how long we keep them.

Checks you should still make

Whatever a listing says, do the same things you would for any club or event your child is going to.

• Ask the club or organiser who their welfare officer is, and how to reach them on the day.
• Ask about DBS checks, first aid and their photography policy — and expect a straight answer.
• Check any County FA affiliation with the County FA, not with us.
• Satisfy yourself before you travel.

Good organisers expect these questions and answer them easily. Reluctance to answer is itself worth noticing.

Reporting somewhere other than us

You never need our permission, and you do not have to tell us first.

• Police — 999 in an emergency, 101 otherwise
• NSPCC Helpline — 0808 800 5000 (10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday), or report online at nspcc.org.uk
• Childline, for anyone under 19 — 0800 1111, free and open 24 hours
• NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line — 0800 028 0285, if you are worried about how an organisation is handling a concern
• Your local council’s children’s services — gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council
• The club’s County FA, which has its own Designated Safeguarding Officer — the right place for most concerns about a football club’s own conduct. You can also email The FA directly at safeguarding@thefa.com