Overview of Organisation
Exeter Rugby Club, more commonly known as Exeter Chiefs, are a professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. The club competes in the English Premiership, which is the top-tier league in English rugby. The Exeter Chiefs are one of the most successful and prominent rugby clubs in recent years. The club have established themselves as a prominent force in English and European rugby, achieving success on the field while making significant contributions to the sport’s development and community engagement.
Problem
What is the relevance of data protection in professional sport? Athletes, like any individuals, have a right to privacy regarding their personal information. Data protection ensures that athletes’ personal data, such as contact details, medical information, performance data, and financial information, is handled securely and only used for legitimate purposes. Protecting their privacy helps maintain their dignity, prevent unauthorised access, and mitigate the risk of identity theft or other forms of misuse.
Sports organisations often engage with fans through various channels, including websites, social media, newsletters, and loyalty programs. Personal data is collected from fans for marketing purposes, ticket sales, and targeted promotions. Ensuring compliance with data protection legislation ensures that fans’ personal information is used appropriately, with their consent, and that adequate security measures are in place to protect their data from unauthorised access or misuse.
In addition, sports entities often enter into sponsorship and commercial partnerships, which involve sharing data with sponsors, advertisers, or broadcasters. Data protection ensures that such data sharing is done within legal boundaries, with proper consent, and with measures in place to protect athletes’ and fans’ data from unauthorised use or exploitation.
Outcome
Outlined above are three risk areas that Exeter Rugby Club needed additional subject matter expertise on, which we were able to provide on an ad-hoc consultancy basis. Having the flexibility to use our ad-hoc services has worked well for the club, as it allows them to address compliance work outside of the busy season and have us on stand-by during the busy periods where data breach incidents are more likely to occur.
In addition, we sponsor two of the Exeter Chiefs men and women’s players, in a bid to show our support for our local club and women in rugby.
Testimonial
Natasha Pavis – Exeter Rugby Club
‘As a professional rugby club, the role of data protection plays a crucial role. In an era where technology and analytics have become integral parts of the game, safeguarding sensitive information has become a paramount concern for athletes, teams, and other clubs alike. Having DPAS support us throughout the season with ad-hoc consultancy services, and working with us off-season, to help us in addressing our compliance, has been an invaluable source of support and reassurance.’
