This league exists for children. Almost everyone whose information we hold is under 16, so this policy is written to be read by their parents and guardians — in plain language, and without burying the parts that matter.
Who we are
The Eastern Cape Development League (“the League”, “we”) is a SAFA-sanctioned under-15 development football league operating across the eight districts of the Eastern Cape. It is delivered in partnership by the Great Africa Supporters Union (GASU) and the Eastern Cape Football Association (ECFA), and promoted by Africa Procurement Group South Africa (Pty) Ltd, which is the responsible party for the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
Our Information Officer can be reached at league@ecdl.co.za.
Children's information
Under sections 34 and 35 of POPIA, a child's personal information may only be processed with the consent of a competent person — in practice, a parent or legal guardian. We build the platform around that rule rather than around it:
- A player's account belongs to their parent or guardian, not to the child.
- Consent is given separately for each purpose — participation, photography, video, a public profile, and scouting — and each can be refused or withdrawn independently at any time, without affecting the child's place in the league.
- Consent is never assumed. Where no consent record exists, the answer is treated as no. A player's profile is private by default.
- Consent is confirmed again each season, so a decision made in 2027 does not silently carry into 2028.
- We never publish a child's school, home address, date of birth, contact details, or the location where they train.
What we collect, and why
Players
Name, date of birth (to confirm age eligibility), district, team, playing position, kit sizes, and emergency contact and medical information provided by the parent for the child's safety on a matchday. We collect this to register the player, to issue their kit, and to run matches safely.
Parents and guardians
Name, email address, telephone number, relationship to the player, and the consents you have given. We use these to reach you about your child's fixtures, to confirm availability, and to contact you in an emergency.
Coaches, officials and referees
Name, contact details, qualifications, and the outcome of safeguarding checks — a police clearance and a check against the National Child Protection Register. We record whether a check is cleared and when it expires. Adults who have not cleared these checks are not given access to any player information.
Everyone who uses the site
Basic, anonymous analytics about which pages are visited, so we can improve the site. We do not use advertising trackers.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only where it is necessary to run the league: with SAFA Eastern Cape for competition administration, with your District Coordinator for matchday operations, and with the service providers who host and operate the platform. Every such provider is bound by a written agreement requiring them to protect the information and to use it only on our instructions.
Professional clubs and scouts
Scouting is one of the reasons this league exists, and it is also where a child's information is most at risk. So: accredited scouts see anonymised performance information only. A player's identity and contact details are released to a club only in response to a specific enquiry, only with fresh parental consent for that enquiry, and only through the League. We broker every introduction. We never sell personal information.
How long we keep it
Player and parent records are kept for the duration of participation and for a limited period afterwards to settle competition and safeguarding matters. Financial records are kept for seven years, as South African law requires. Safeguarding records are kept for as long as necessary to protect children. Anything we no longer need is deleted.
How we protect it
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is restricted by role, enforced in the database itself and not only in the application, so that a person can only reach the records their role legitimately requires — a team manager cannot see another team's squad, and a parent cannot see another family's child. Sensitive fields such as medical notes are additionally encrypted. Every access to sensitive information is logged.
Your rights
Under POPIA you may:
- ask what personal information we hold about you or your child, and get a copy;
- ask us to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete information we no longer have a reason to keep;
- withdraw a consent you previously gave;
- object to how we are using the information;
- complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have not handled your information lawfully.
To exercise any of these, write to league@ecdl.co.za. We will confirm who you are before acting, and respond within the period the Act allows.
Where information is stored
Our platform is hosted with providers whose infrastructure may be located outside South Africa. Where information leaves the country, we do so only on the conditions set out in section 72 of POPIA, under contracts that require a comparable level of protection.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will publish the new version here with a new version number and date, and where the change is significant we will tell registered users directly.
See also our child safeguarding policy, terms of use and accessibility statement.