The INTERNATIONAL
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION BOARD (IFAB)
Münstergasse 9
8001 Zürich, Switzerland
For any definition used in this Privacy Policy, please refer to our Terms located at Terms of Service. Please read the following to learn more about our Privacy Policy and the ways in which we use your information before you proceed with the use of our digital platforms.
Date of issue of this Privacy Policy: June 2022
International transfer
YOUR INFORMATION IS PROCESSED IN SWITZERLAND, AND MAY BE STORED AND USED ELSEWHERE DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION OF AFFILIATES, BUSINESS PARTNERS, AND OTHER ENTITIES WHO ARE PERMITTED TO ACCESS SUCH INFORMATION UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY (AND SUCH LOCATIONS OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (“EEA”) MAY INCLUDE COUNTRIES WHICH MAY NOT AFFORD THE SAME LEVEL OF PROTECTION OF SUCH DATA AS THE COUNTRY FROM WHICH YOU PROVIDED THE INFORMATION). IF WE DO PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION OUTSIDE THE EEA, WE WILL TAKE ALL REASONABLE STEPS TO ENSURE THAT YOUR INFORMATION IS TREATED AS SAFELY AND SECURELY AS IT WOULD BE WITHIN SWITZERLAND AND UNDER THE SWISS DATA PROTECTION ACT, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME (“DPA”) AND THE GDPR INCLUDING: PUTTING INTO PLACE DATA PROTECTION AGREEMENTS SUCH AS THE EU MODEL CLAUSES. BY ACCESSING OR USING OUR DIGITAL PLATFORMS OR SUBMITTING PERSONAL INFORMATION TO US, YOU SPECIFICALLY AGREE TO THAT TRANSFER AND ANY RELATED PURPOSES.
The collection of information and how we use it
The collection and use of your information will always have a lawful basis, either because it is necessary for our performance of a contract with you, because you have consented to our use of your information (e.g. when subscribing to the IFAB Newsletter) or because it is in our legitimate interests. Specifically, we may use your data for the following purposes: to provide and improve our digital platforms, services or content and their features, to administer your membership, to send you our newsletter containing IFAB news or details of IFAB products (such as the Laws of the Game book) and to enable users to enjoy and easily navigate our digital platforms.
The information we collect from you
The IFAB may collect information when you enter into transactions with us, (e.g. via the IFAB Webshop), use our digital platforms, subscribe to the IFAB Newsletter or communicate with us in any other way. The information collected may include but is not limited to the following personal information: email address, last name, first name, country of residence, date of birth, gender, screen name, password, and opt-in for game and The IFAB content preferences. In order to process some of your transactions through our digital platforms, we may also ask for your credit card number and billing information.
Newsletter
On our digital platforms (e.g. the IFAB website), you can subscribe to the IFAB Newsletter, which contains the latest news regarding The IFAB and the Laws of the Game.
We send out our IFAB Newsletter with the support of The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp, based in the USA, which belongs to the Intuit group companies. Mailchimp is a sub processor and obliged to comply with appropriate guarantees for data protection and data security.
Newsletters may contain graphics and/or weblinks that collect personal data in order to record if and when a newsletter email in an email application is opened and which weblinks are clicked in the newsletter emails. Such graphics and/or weblinks measure the use, success and reach of newsletters in order to guarantee their quality and enable improvements to be made. Further information can be found in Intuit’s global privacy statement (www.intuit.com/privacy/statement).
Each newsletter email contains a link, through which you can unsubscribe from receiving the newsletter.
Cookies
We use “cookies” when you visit our digital platforms. Please refer to our Cookie Policy
Automatic information
The IFAB automatically collects some information about your computer when you visit our digital platforms by browsing our servers. For example, we will collect your IP address, web browser software and referring website. We also may collect information about your location or your online activity on our digital platforms. Collecting this information helps us customize your user experience and to monitor and analyze your use of our digital platforms and its services. This information is also used for our digital platforms’ technical administration and for the optimization of our digital platforms’ usability and functionalities.
How we use your information
The IFAB uses billing information (such as cardholder name, credit card number, and expiration date) for the purpose of completing the transaction concluded on our digital platforms (e.g. via The IFAB Webshop).
We use other information about you for the following general purposes: to provide you with the services that you request; to process your bills; to communicate with you in general; to respond to your questions and comments; to send you our newsletter; to notify you about special offers that may be of interest to you; to prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities; to enforce our Terms located at Terms of Service; and as otherwise described to you at the point of collection.
Phishing
Identity theft and the practice currently known as “phishing” are of great concern to us. Safeguarding information to help protect you from identity theft is a top priority. We do not and will not, at any time, request your credit card information or national identification numbers in a non-secure or unsolicited e-mail or telephone communication.
Information sharing and disclosure
The IFAB may send information about you to third parties when:
a) We have your consent to share the information; or
b) We need to share your information to provide the product or service you have requested; or
c) We provide the information to companies who work on behalf of The IFAB under confidentiality agreements or, if required, processor agreements providing for the required safeguards for your information in accordance with applicable data protection laws; or
d) We respond to subpoenas, court orders or a legal process; or
e) We believe it is necessary, as determined in our sole discretion, to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, emergency situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of our Terms located at Terms of Service, or as otherwise required by law.
Security
We want you to feel confident about using our digital platforms. For that reason, we have implemented reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to secure your information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration or disclosure. However, the internet is an open system and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat those measures or use your information for improper purposes.
If you communicate with The IFAB by email, you should note that the secrecy of internet email is uncertain. By sending sensitive or confidential email messages or information which are not encrypted, you accept the risk of such uncertainty and possible lack of confidentiality over the internet.
Your rights
You have the following rights which this Privacy Policy and our use of your information have been designed to uphold:
a) the right to be informed about our collection and use of your information;
b) the right of access to the information we hold about you;
c) the right to rectification if any information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete;
d) the right to be forgotten – i.e. the right to ask us to delete any personal data we hold about you (we only hold your personal data for a limited time, but if you would like us to delete it sooner, please contact us); we will accommodate your request for deletion, if we do not have any legal obligation to retain the record;
e) the right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your information;
f) the right to data portability (obtaining a copy of your information to re-use with another service or organization);
g) the right to object to us using your information for particular purposes; and
h) rights with respect to automated decision-making and profiling.
If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your information or in order to exercise your above-mentioned rights, please contact us via e-mail to [email protected]. We may require you to provide verification of your identity. If we are unable to help, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (“FDPIC”) or the competent supervisory authority in the EU (where applicable). Please note that in certain circumstances we may withhold access to your information where we have the right to do so under current data protection legislation.
Links to other sites
If any part of our digital platforms links to other websites, those websites do not operate under this Privacy Policy. If you choose to click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s website. We do not exercise control over third party websites and therefore are not responsible for their content. We recommend you examine the privacy statements posted on these other websites to understand their procedures for collecting, using and disclosing personal information.
Our policy towards children
We do not on purpose collect personally identifiable information from children under 16. If a parent or legal guardian becomes aware that his or her child under 16, or ward under 16, has provided us with personal information without their consent, he or she should inform us in this regard (see contact information below). If we become aware that a child under 16 has provided us with personal information without such consent, we will delete such information from our files.
Withdrawal of consent
In the event consent was given, you have the right to withdraw - with effect for the future - your consent given at any time by sending a written notice to The International Football Association Board (IFAB), Münstergasse 9, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland or an email to [email protected]
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time. If we amend this Privacy Policy, we shall place an updated version on our digital platforms, any changes will be immediately posted on our website and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of our digital platforms following the alterations. Our website may also provide notices of changes to this Privacy Policy or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you, generally on or within our digital platforms.
Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our use of your information, please contact us by email at [email protected] or by post to The International Football Association Board (IFAB), Münstergasse 9, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland.
Representative in the EU
The IFAB’s representative in the EU may be contacted as follows:
VGS Datenschutzpartner UG, Am Kaiserkai 69, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
Precedence
In the event that the provisions of this Privacy Policy conflict with the provisions of a third-party privacy policy on our digital platforms, the provisions of this Privacy Policy shall prevail.
Jurisdiction and applicable law
This Privacy Policy and all matters arising out of or related to this Privacy Policy shall be governed by the substantive laws of Switzerland, excluding any conflicts of laws and principles thereof.
Any controversy, claim or dispute between you and The IFAB arising out of or relating to this Privacy Policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the ordinary courts of Zurich, Switzerland, and, if possible, of the Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland (Handelsgericht des Kantons Zürich), and each party hereby irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction and venue of such court.
