Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how FCScout.com ("FCScout.com," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, stores, and shares information when you use fcscout.com and related websites, applications, and services (the "Service"). FCScout.com operates a soccer club directory and player recruitment profile platform.

This Policy applies to visitors, account holders, club claimants and owners, athletes who create player profiles, parents or guardians who provide consent for minor athletes, people who submit Path to Pro service requests, and anyone who submits a Request to Connect inquiry or a report. It should be read together with our Terms of Service.

Effective / last updated date: September 26, 2026. Contact for privacy matters: info@fcscout.com.

We collect information in the categories below. What we collect depends on how you use the Service.

Account information

Authentication is provided by an authentication and identity management provider. That provider processes account identifiers such as your email address, name (if provided), and authentication credentials or sign-in tokens. We store an account identifier from that provider so we can associate your account with player profiles, club ownership, claims, reports, and (when signed in) certain analytics events. We may also store a role on your account (for example, member, player, or admin) to authorize features of the Service.

Club owner and claim information

If you claim a club listing, we store your account identifier, the email address associated with your account at the time of the claim, the relationship you assert to the club (for example, coach, director, staff, owner, or board), any optional note you submit, and claim status and review metadata. If a claim is approved, we associate your account as the club owner. Club profile content you later edit (name, description, location, staff names, tryouts, media, and similar directory fields) is also stored so it can be displayed on public club pages.

Player profile information

If you create a player recruitment profile, we may store: first and last name; date of birth; positions; current club name; nationality; height, weight, preferred foot, and jersey number; bio; recruiting preferences (such as level sought, willingness to relocate, and target regions); career history; season statistics; achievements; uploaded photos and video (and captions); a public URL slug; publish status; and coach endorsement details you enter (including coach name, optional coach email, relationship, and statement).

Date of birth is collected specifically to enforce our age requirements and guardian consent process (minimum age 13; guardian consent required before public publish for athletes ages 13–17). On a published public profile we display a computed age, not the full date of birth.

Guardian information (athletes ages 13–17)

For minor athletes, we collect a parent or legal guardian email address, a consent status (pending or confirmed), a consent confirmation timestamp when consent is given, and a secure consent token used to complete the consent link. This information is collected solely to obtain and record parental or guardian consent before a minor's profile can be published publicly, and to communicate about that consent. See Section 3 (Children's Privacy).

Path to Pro service requests

If you submit a Path to Pro service request, we collect: your name and email address; your relationship to the player (parent/guardian or player age 18+); the player's age in whole years (or an equivalent age indication — not a full date of birth); position and/or playing level; preferred dates or format; a free-text message; confirmation that you agree to our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy; and, when the player is under 18, confirmation that you are the player's parent or legal guardian. We do not collect the player's full name on the initial request form. We also store request status, internal admin notes, timestamps, and the Path to Pro profile and (if selected) service you requested.

We collect this information to review requests, communicate with you about status, and — only if FCScout.com staff approve the request — share relevant request details with the profiled coach or former pro so they can decide whether and how to provide the service. Requests for players under 18 must come from a parent or legal guardian.

Payment information

If you purchase or manage a geographic sponsorship, payment card details are collected and processed directly by Stripe; FCScout.com does not store full card numbers. We may store billing and subscription references from Stripe, and sponsorship placement details (club, tier, region, status, and billing period), so we can fulfill and administer the sponsorship. Stripe's handling of payment data is also governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy.

Usage and analytics data

We use first-party product analytics and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) when analytics cookies are allowed (see Sections 5 and 12). Together they help us understand how the Service is used and improve the product.

Our first-party analytics may record events such as page views, club and player profile views, map pin clicks, filter usage, search-related parameters (for example ZIP code, state, radius, or club name queries), tab switches, registration-link clicks, claim submissions, sponsorship purchases, and certain button or CTA clicks. Events may include a club or player reference, path, and (when you are signed in) an account association. We also set a first-party anonymous visitor cookie (see Section 12). We do not record IP address or User-Agent strings in our first-party analytics event pipeline as currently implemented.

When GA4 is active, Google may receive page views and the custom events we forward, including club_view, tryout_viewed, registration_link_clicked, cta_clicked, career_club_linked, and profile_view. When analytics cookies are declined or not yet accepted in a region that requires opt-in, GA4 stays fully inactive — no GA4 scripts or requests are loaded. See Sections 5 and 12.

Inquiry and message data

If you submit a "Request to Connect" form on a public player profile, we store the inquirer name, optional organization, email address, and message, and associate them with that player profile so the athlete can review them in their dashboard. We may also store profile reports you submit (description and optional reporter account association) for moderation.

Data sources (directory content — not personal data sharing)

Public club and geographic data displayed on the Service may be sourced from GeoNames (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0) and openfootball (public domain), as well as our own research or administrative imports. This is a data-sourcing and attribution disclosure: those sources supply directory content and are not recipients of your personal account, player, guardian, payment, or inquiry data.

FCScout.com takes special care with information related to athletes under 18. This section explains our practices in plain language.

Under 13. FCScout.com does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Account creation and player profile setup are blocked for anyone who indicates an age under 13 (based on date of birth). If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that account and related profile data as promptly as reasonably practicable.

Ages 13–17 — guardian consent. Athletes ages 13 through 17 may create an account and draft a player profile, but the profile cannot be published publicly until a parent or legal guardian confirms consent. We ask the athlete for a guardian email address, generate a unique consent link, and (when email delivery is configured) send that link via our email provider. The guardian is asked to confirm that they are the parent or guardian of the athlete and that they consent to the athlete's recruiting profile being published publicly when the athlete chooses. Consent emails describe that a published profile may include name, age, club information, bio, media, and recruiting preferences, and that raw contact details are not shown publicly.

Until guardian consent is confirmed, the profile remains unpublished (not publicly visible). Publishing remains a separate, deliberate step controlled by the athlete after consent is on file.

Guardians' rights. A parent or legal guardian may, at any time: (a) request to review the information we have collected about their child in connection with a player profile; (b) request corrections to that information; (c) revoke consent and ask us to unpublish and/or delete the child's profile; and (d) ask questions about how the child's information is used. To exercise these rights, email info@fcscout.com with the subject line "Guardian / Child Privacy Request" and enough information for us to locate the profile (for example, the athlete's name and public slug, if any). We may need to verify your identity and relationship to the child before fulfilling the request.

Age misrepresentation. If we discover that a user misrepresented their age to create an account or profile (including to bypass the under-13 block or the guardian consent requirement), we may suspend or delete the account and unpublish or remove the profile.

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate, secure, and maintain the Service, including authentication, authorization, and account features;
• Display public club pages and published player profiles as configured by the user (and, for minors, after guardian consent is confirmed);
• Process club claims, ownership, and profile management for claimed clubs;
• Process and fulfill sponsorship purchases and billing through Stripe when that feature is enabled;
• Send guardian consent emails and other transactional messages through a transactional email delivery service when email delivery is configured;
• Deliver Request to Connect inquiries to the athlete's private dashboard (currently in-product; not emailed by default);
• Run first-party analytics and, with consent, Google Analytics 4 to understand product usage and improve the Service;
• Respond to support requests, privacy requests, and reports;
• Enforce our Terms of Service and moderation policies, including unpublishing or removing content and investigating abuse;
• Comply with law and protect the safety and rights of users, including minors.

We do not sell personal information. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

We share information with service providers that process data on our behalf to run the Service:

• An authentication and identity management provider — to create and secure accounts and sign-in sessions;
• A database hosting provider — to store application data needed to operate the Service;
• A cloud infrastructure and content delivery provider — to host and deliver the Service and to store uploaded media;
• Stripe— payment processing and subscription billing for sponsorships. Card payments are handled on Stripe's checkout and customer portal; Stripe's practices are described in Stripe's Privacy Policy;
• A transactional email delivery service — to send transactional messages such as guardian consent emails and Path to Pro request confirmations or status updates when email delivery is configured;
• Google Analytics (Google LLC) — website analytics via Google Analytics 4 when analytics cookies are allowed under Section 12 (geo-based consent). If you decline (or have not yet accepted in a region that requires opt-in), GA4 remains fully inactive (no Google Analytics scripts or network requests). When active, GA4 receives page views and custom events we forward (club_view, tryout_viewed, registration_link_clicked, cta_clicked, career_club_linked, profile_view). Google's handling of that data is also governed by Google's Privacy Policy. We continue to operate our own first-party analytics in addition to GA4.

Directory content sourcing (GeoNames and openfootball) is described in Section 2 under "Data sources." Those projects do not receive your personal information.

Path to Pro coaches. Path to Pro request details are visible to FCScout.com staff for review. If FCScout.com approves a request, we share with the Coach the details they need to decide whether and how to provide the service: the player's age, position or level, preferred dates or format, your message, and your first name. We do not share your email address or phone number with the Coach unless you give us permission for that specific request (for example, to arrange the logistics of a session). Public Path to Pro pages do not display a Coach's personal email or phone number.

We may also disclose information if required by law, legal process, or governmental request; to protect the rights, safety, or security of FCScout.com, our users (especially minors), or the public; or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, subject to appropriate confidentiality and this Policy's principles where applicable.

Published profile and club content is visible as described in Section 6.

Profiles default to unpublished (draft). Publishing is a deliberate action. For athletes ages 13–17, publishing is only available after guardian consent is confirmed. You (or a guardian, by contacting us or via available product controls) can unpublish a profile later; unpublishing removes public visibility of the current profile page, though cached copies or search-engine indexes may take time to update, and prior shared links may stop working or redirect depending on slug changes.

We do not display raw contact information such as email address or phone number on public player profiles. Outside contact is intended to happen through the "Request to Connect" form. The athlete (and, as applicable, guardian) must actively review and choose whether to respond to inquiries in their private dashboard. Submitting an inquiry does not entitle the inquirer to a reply.

Public profiles may show information such as name, photo, computed age, position, club, bio, recruiting preferences, career history, stats, achievements, media, and endorsement text — as configured by the athlete. Full date of birth, guardian email, and inquiry emails are not shown on the public page.

Account and profile data is retained for as long as the account remains active. Upon account deletion or a data deletion request, personal data is purged within ninety (90) days, except where retention is required to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.

When you unpublish a profile, the underlying data may remain in your account in draft form until you delete it or request deletion. Limited copies may also persist for a short period in backups after primary deletion, then age out of backup retention.

Path to Pro service requests that are declined or completed are retained for up to twenty-four (24) months after the request reaches a terminal status (declined, completed, or cancelled), unless a longer period is required for legal, safeguarding, dispute, or security reasons. Active or in-progress requests are retained while needed to administer the request and for a reasonable period afterward consistent with the above.

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) to the Service, access controls for administrative tools, and storage of application data with our infrastructure providers. Payment card data is handled by Stripe under Stripe's security program.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. Please use a strong unique password for your account and notify us promptly at info@fcscout.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

Depending on your location and relationship to the Service, you may:

• Access and update account profile details through your account settings and, for athletes, edit player profile content in the player dashboard;
• Unpublish a published player profile using available dashboard controls (when eligible);
• Request correction or deletion of your account or profile data by emailing info@fcscout.com (self-serve full account deletion may be added later; email is the supported path today);
• As a guardian, revoke consent and request that a minor's profile be unpublished or deleted (see Section 3);
• Accept or decline non-essential analytics cookies via the cookie consent banner (where shown) or Cookie Preferences in the site footer (declining keeps Google Analytics 4 inactive);
• Opt out of non-essential emails by following unsubscribe instructions where provided, or by contacting us. Transactional messages necessary to operate the Service (such as guardian consent links or security notices) may still be sent when required.

For privacy or data requests, contact info@fcscout.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the CPRA, provides rights to know about personal information we collect, to request deletion or correction, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

FCScout.com does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Because we do not sell or share personal information in that way, a separate "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" mechanism is not required; the opt-out right does not apply to a sale or share that does not occur.

California residents may still exercise their rights to know, delete, and correct by emailing info@fcscout.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. You will not be discriminated against for exercising CCPA/CPRA rights.

The Service is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information is processed and stored in the United States and may be processed in other countries where our service providers operate. Those countries may have data-protection laws different from those in your country.

The Service includes international club directory content. That does not by itself mean we are actively targeting account holders in every country where clubs appear. FCScout.com has not appointed a formal EU representative, as the Service is not specifically directed at EU/UK markets at this time.

If you are in the European Union or United Kingdom, you may have rights under the GDPR / UK GDPR, including rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection. You may exercise these rights by contacting info@fcscout.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

We use a limited set of cookies and browser storage technologies:

• Authentication session cookies — required for signed-in authentication and session security;
• First-party visitor cookie — an anonymous identifier used for our first-party product analytics (not an advertising tracker);
• Cookie consent preference cookie — stores whether analytics cookies are allowed or declined so we do not re-prompt on every visit;
• Google Analytics cookies / identifiers — set by Google only when analytics cookies are allowed under this Section;
• Session storage during player signup — temporary browser session storage may hold draft signup fields (such as name, date of birth, optional guardian email, and preference flags) until account setup completes, then is cleared.

Google Analytics 4 is consent-gated, with geo-based defaults. We estimate your country from your IP address (via our cloud infrastructure and content delivery provider) to choose a default. Visitors in the EU, UK, EEA, or Switzerland see a cookie consent banner and analytics cookies stay off until you Accept (or enable them in Cookie Preferences). Visitors elsewhere do not see the banner; analytics cookies are treated as allowed by default so GA4 may load without an initial prompt. Anyone can change this later via Cookie Preferences in the site footer. If you decline or turn analytics off, GA4 remains fully inactive — we do not load Google's analytics scripts and we make no requests to Google Analytics. If analytics cookies are allowed, we load GA4 and may send page views plus the custom events listed in Sections 2 and 5. Your choice is stored in the cookie consent preference cookie. IP-based location is imperfect (for example VPNs or proxies may misclassify you); that is a standard limitation of this approach. For how Google processes analytics data, see Google's Privacy Policy.

We do not currently use Meta Pixel or similar advertising SDKs. Map and directory filters are generally held in page state rather than long-lived localStorage. If we add additional cookies or trackers, we will update this Policy.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. For material changes — especially those affecting children's privacy or how we share personal information — we will provide additional notice reasonably calculated to inform users (for example, a notice on the Service or an email) where practicable.

Continued use of the Service after an update becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy, except where applicable law requires a different form of consent.

If we publish this Privacy Policy in Spanish or another language and a translation conflicts with the English version, the English version controls.

This Section summarizes how we handle Path to Pro request data. It supplements Sections 2, 4, 5, and 7.

What we collect. Requester contact information (name and email); relationship to the player; player age (not date of birth); position and/or level; preferred dates or format; message text; Terms/Privacy acceptance; and parent/guardian confirmation when the player is under 18. We do not collect the player's full name on the initial request.

Why. To evaluate and administer requests, prevent abuse, send confirmations and status updates, and — only after FCScout.com approval — enable the coach to respond about coaching, mentoring, evaluation, or video-review services.

Who sees it. FCScout.com staff review all requests. If we approve a request, we share with the Coach the details they need to decide whether and how to provide the service (including player age, position or level, preferred dates or format, message text, and the requester's first name). We do not share the requester's email or phone with the Coach unless the requester has given permission for that specific request. Public profile pages do not expose requester information or the Coach's private contact details.

Minors. Requests for players under 18 must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian. We may decline requests that do not meet this requirement.

For privacy questions, data access/correction/deletion requests, California privacy requests, GDPR/UK GDPR requests, Path to Pro request privacy questions, and guardian consent or child-data inquiries, contact:

info@fcscout.com

Please include enough detail for us to locate the relevant account or profile. For guardian requests, use a clear subject line such as "Guardian / Child Privacy Request."

See also our Terms of Service and About page.