Cardiff City Football Club has partnered with Cardiff-based technology company Nisien.ai, which becomes the Club’s Official Online Safeguarding Partner.
Founded and headquartered in Cardiff, Nisien is a global leader in real-time online safeguarding and threat intelligence. Through this partnership, Cardiff City will leverage Nisien’s advanced HERO platform to help identify, assess and respond to online abuse, threats and misinformation across digital and social media channels.
The partnership brings together two organisations with strong roots in the Welsh capital and a shared commitment to protecting people and fostering positive communities both on and off the pitch.
Unlike traditional monitoring tools that rely on keyword searches or retrospective analysis after a fixture has concluded, Nisien’s HERO platform uses advanced artificial intelligence and contextual analysis to detect and prioritise genuine risks in real time. By understanding the nature, severity and relevance of harmful content, the platform enables organisations to act quickly when player welfare, supporter safety or organisational reputation may be at risk.
In the fast-paced environment of professional football, where online conversations can escalate within minutes, the ability to identify and respond to harmful content proactively is increasingly important. Nisien’s technology helps organisations move beyond simply monitoring online activity, providing clear, prioritised intelligence and recommended actions that support timely intervention.
Through this partnership, Cardiff City will strengthen its online safeguarding capabilities and further its commitment to protecting players, staff and supporters from online abuse. The collaboration reflects the Club’s continued focus on welfare, innovation and community, while proudly supporting a Cardiff-founded company that is helping organisations around the world respond to digital threats more effectively.
Together, Cardiff City and Nisien are committed to creating safer online environments, ensuring that those who represent and support the Club can engage in digital spaces with greater confidence and protection.
Rob Cronick, Head of Safeguarding at Cardiff City FC, said: “Cardiff City’s new partnership with Nisien AI is a welcome addition to our existing safeguarding provision and, together with our highly trained staff and robust safeguarding and player care processes, will provide further protection for our players and staff. The proactive HERO platform will allow us to move away from reactive post-match reporting to an ‘always on’ real time monitoring capability. This will provide a further tier of support across both the Men’s and Women’s game, whilst ensuring that positive mental health and wellbeing remains a priority for us at Cardiff City. This early recognition allows us to engage immediately with law enforcement across South Wales and beyond.”
Pete Burnap, Co-Founder at Nisien, said: “Football has an incredible ability to bring people together and create a sense of belonging. But the online environment around sport can also create challenges for players, staff and supporters that require a different kind of response. We’re proud to be partnering with Cardiff City Football Club to help create a safer online environment through technology that can identify genuine risks in real time and support early intervention when it matters most. As a Cardiff-founded company working with one of the city’s most recognisable institutions, this partnership is particularly special for us. It demonstrates how innovation developed in Wales can help protect people, strengthen communities and deliver impact far beyond our borders.”