IMAGE POLICY

GENERAL

This statement of policy is not intended to create any legal rights or obligations (beyond clarifying ownership and use of the material to which it refers), confers no financial benefit or liability, may not be assigned without agreement, and can be repudiated by any party without notice.

CLUB PHOTOGRAPHER

The Club will formally inform who is considered as the club photographer. The nominated club photographer agrees to make best efforts to attend and provide a set of digital images of each game and, in the event this is not possible, to give reasonable notice. Any such images remain the property of the club photographer, notwithstanding that there are no restrictions on club use (including commercial income generating activity) of any images made available to the club pursuant to this policy. The club would have availability and use of the images taken by the club photographer for perpetuity (the licence).

Images should, wherever possible, be made available by the Wednesday following a Sunday match, and the Sunday following a midweek game. Best efforts will be made to fulfil any special or expedited requests for images or graphic projects outside these normal arrangements. In any event images will be available to nominated club staff and players for any club purposes - save that where players use or publish images on personal platforms, they will be encouraged to credit both the club and the club photographer – and may be so used without restriction or further permission until written notice isgiven terminating the licence.

Club purposes include but are not limited to promotion, publicity, development, fund raising, recruitment, sponsorship and fulfilling obligations to third party stakeholders - such as sponsors, investors, partners, suppliers of goods or services, the media, affiliated leagues or competitions, and assisting other clubs in such purposes; save that the club should not purport to authorise use other than in accordance with the copyright restrictions applied to the image by the Club Photographer, and in particular should request appropriate attribution.

In discharging obligations pursuant to this policy, the club photographer will – in conjunction and agreement with the club – maintain a stock archive - appropriately arranged - of images for the use of the club, accessible at all times by nominated club staff, and assist in any request for specific related material. The club may replicate this stock archive offline to ensure availability of images during technical issues or service downtime.

In addition to the core activity outlined above, the club photographer will accommodate reasonable requests to provide additional images in connection with club purposes, including but not limited to ground and personnel portraiture services and promotional material for third parties, and - where necessary – ancillary graphic services.

Matchday photography used within the club programme will be limited to those taken by the Club Photographer, where the photographer was in attendance for the game covered, unless prior agreement to use alternative photography has been agreed in advance with the Club Photographer. Athlético London FC Image Policy.

THE CLUB

The Club, acting through any nominated officer, agrees to facilitate and/or agree equivalent player and official access for the club photographer - without payment - at all games; and to respect the terms of use outlined above in relation to any and all photographic material provided.

The club understands that it does not, by virtue of the above, acquire any property rights in the material beyond club use, and agrees – where images are used on behalf of, or released to, players and/or third parties, that it will make best efforts to ensure compliance with the club photographer’s conditions of use and in particular request appropriate attribution.

In utilising the services of the club photographer, the club agrees to act reasonably and provide appropriate support and notice, particularly when making requests outside core activities. This will include advance access to fixture lists and notice of other significant events, and a numbered squad list at the start of every season and from time to time as necessary.

All communications between the Club and the Club photographer must and would be through the Club’s commercial team officers. The club reserves the right to provide additional photographers access to games and club events, and to utilise photos taken for purposes include but are not limited to promotion, publicity, development, fund raising, recruitment, sponsorship and fulfilling obligations to third party stakeholders. These individuals will not be identified by the club as ‘Club Photographer’ nor be entitled to do so.

THE MASCOTS

As part of our commitment to capturing and promoting the vibrant spirit of our club, we maintain an image policy that extends to mascot photography. By participating in club events and activities, all individuals acknowledge and consent to the club’s right to capture, take, and use photographs of club mascots, both on and off the pitch, unless specified by the parents or guardian.

In line with this policy, it is important to note that the club reserves the discretion to select and use the intellectual property (IP) of another photographer or individual, if deemed necessary or appropriate, when it comes to mascot photographs. This provision acknowledges that certain circumstances may arise where incorporating an individual's IP enhances the overall quality or promotional value of the photographs.

Rest assured, the club remains committed to safeguarding the privacy and safety of our mascots throughout this process. We encourage open communication and invite individuals with concerns or objections regarding the use of their IP in mascot photographs to engage in a discussion with theclub's designated representative.

By adhering to these guidelines, we can continue to showcase our club's mascots while maintaining the utmost respect for the rights and well-being of all involved.

STAFF AND PLAYERS

Staff and players (defined for these purposes as anyone representing or acting for or on behalf of the club in any capacity from time to time) hereby agree and consent to the capture and use of images by and on behalf of the club during any club related activities, including but not limited to promotion, publicity, development, fund raising, recruitment, sponsorship and fulfilling obligations to third party stakeholders - such as sponsors, investors, partners, suppliers of goods or services, the media, affiliated leagues or competitions, and assisting other clubs in such purposes.

In so doing staff and players agree and accept that they have no rights over, or control or ownership of, any such images or the uses to which they may be put; and waive any such rights as may exist in consideration of the personal and professional development and educational opportunities, publicity and other benefits which accrue from association with the club.

Staff and players (particularly as users of social media) should be aware that they are likely to be associated with the club and should therefore regard themselves as ambassadors for the team, the club, sponsors, competitions in which the club participates and women’s football. If any player or member of staff does not wish to be specifically identified as associated with the club on social media (by – for example being tagged or linked in images) on one or more accounts they should notify the club secretary however, staff and players should understand that it is not possible to guarantee that images of any individual will not be captured and used for club purposes notwithstanding such notification, and no liability is accepted for any such association.

Staff and players are not only permitted but encouraged to use club material on social media for personal and professional promotion and development, but should ensure that any image or comment posted is consistent with the values of the club and should not reasonably be capable of bearing any meaning supportive of prejudice, discrimination or exclusivity of any kind.

Players are encouraged to use their personal devices to document their experiences within the club, including training sessions, team celebrations, and interactions with supporters. This content may be shared on various social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and others.

By promoting player-created content, we aim to provide our fans with an authentic and intimate glimpse into the life of our football club. This initiative enhances the connection between players and supporters, fostering a sense of inclusivity and transparency. However, we emphasise the importance of maintaining respect for privacy, confidentiality, and the club's image in all content shared.

Players are reminded to exercise good judgment and adhere to our social media guidelines when posting content. This includes refraining from sharing sensitive or confidential information, adhering to applicable copyright laws, and refraining from engaging in any form of harmful or inappropriate behavoir. The club reserves the right to monitor and moderate player-generated content to ensure compliance with these guidelines.

Particular care should be taken to ensure that any views and opinions are expressed respectfully and in moderate terms, and do not support extremist, threatening, offensive or abusive behaviour. Please be considerate and respectful when posting (or re-posting) images of others.

The use of club images, badges and logos is permitted on a reasonable use basis for football related non-commercial purposes - including personal player profiles, and for seeking and securing support, sponsorship, publicity or educational opportunity. Any use (or re-use) must be accompanied by a credit in accordance with the published copyright terms, and in any event give suitable and appropriate prominence to the club and the club photographer.

Players are asked to subscribe to the club archive as the best source of match and promotional material, and to support both the club, the club photographer, staff and other players in encouraging the dissemination of such material by following, liking, sharing and identifying the source. Images will be disseminated in a variety of ways, initially via Instagram, then a Flickr link to two twelve picture match album selections (one in 1:1 aspect ratio and one in 3:2) available on a shared GDrive document, and finally the full match set will be made available to view and download in full resolution on SmugMug. As the season progresses, individual player portfolios will be assembled and made available as a GDrive folder. These serve a variety of purposes for the club and the individual and it is hoped that as the stock image library develops, this will include club and personalised merchandise, and feed into wider publicity projects undertaken by other clubs, the division and theleague.

Whilst tempting to restrict social media activity to images of oneself, or one’s friends, players and staff are encouraged to promote the club through positive promotion of all club images and messages, wherever they appear. Hashtags are important in driving engagement and the relevant algorithms respond most effectively to likes and follows. This in turns promotes club content in searches and suggestions, thereby widening the audience and building the profile. In particular there is a potential international market which is largely untapped in terms of lower tier women’s football and can provide significant growth if utilised properly.

Without this club images do not go beyond the existing followers and it is impossible to generate growth. For obvious reasons there are many social media links between club players and those from other teams, and where possible, these links should be exploited by tagging known players from other teams in club images. If individual staff or players do not wish to maintain a football social media presence, we ask that they consider supporting others through a dedicated football account.

Similarly, the wider the audience the more effective the promotion. Thus, where appropriate, we ask that friends and family are asked to follow and support club and club related accounts – this is an easy way to make a real contribution to the profile of the club and its sponsors, ultimately its success in recruiting and retaining players, sponsors and supporters.

The ultimate aim is to develop a reputation for having the best images. If other players, teams and clubs use them that will usually have the effect of publicising the club. Self evidently, images which are not seen can have no effect and are wasted.

Care should be taken to ensure that any published image which does not come from the Club is nonetheless appropriate in terms of quality, content and context, and where appropriate is used in accordance with the copyright conditions of the owner.

The use of poor-quality photographs from other sources is discouraged, as is indiscriminate and repetitive posting, the application of filters or graphic overlays which distort, adapt or obscure the underlying photograph - its colour or tone, or the publication of numerous images in a single post absent a clear purpose (please do not “photo dump” club images on personal websites, it is incredibly wasteful of a resource which takes an enormous amount of time, effort and expertise to create). The aim is to maintain a steady flow of high quality images promoting players, the club and women’s football, this requires reaching a saturation point and ubiquity for Athletico London. As we start with no recognisable brand, this is vital for survival, consolidation and success. We wish all staff and players to come with us on the development journey but this requires a group effort and some significant commitment.

The Club outputs images in three aspect ratios 1:1, 3:2/6:4 and 2:3/4:6, the first is designed for Instagram, the second is more suitable for websites, Twitter and Facebook, and the third for portrait applications (including the club programme). Those who reuse images are asked to think about the suitability – particularly in terms of size and composition, before posting.

However tempting, staff and players are asked not to squeeze 3:2 or 2:3 images into a 1:1 bounding box, the results are unsatisfactory. Sometimes a favourite photograph will not be the desired shape, but the aspect ratio has been picked to match the content and ensure consistent quality and supply for various platforms and outlets. Please ask the Club Photographer in the event that a particular high resolution crop of a specific image is required, rather than just cutting bits off and squeezing with a non-native aspect ratio.

Similarly, please do not be tempted to stack numerous favourite images in one post (carousel) - experience suggests that one good image creates as much interest and engagement as six and you have five left for another day. This is wasteful of resources and can also impact on quality because of the differences in light and other factors over the course of a match. Be patient – regular high-quality posts will generate more traffic and reaction than using all the available material in one hit only for most of it to be lost in terms of impact.

Staff and players will make best efforts to attend media events when requested – in and out of season, and in any event confirm availability within a reasonable period.