Terms of Use and Sale
Last updated: 18 August 2026
1. Purpose and acceptance
These terms govern, on the one hand, access to and use of BENCHSIDE, an online football club management game available at benchside.football, and, on the other hand, the sale of the optional paid features offered within it. Creating an account constitutes acceptance of the terms of use; placing an order constitutes acceptance of the terms of sale. The publisher of the service is identified in the legal notice.
2. Access to the game and accounts
Access to the game is free and remains so: an account is all you need to play, with no purchase of any kind. Each account is personal. You are responsible for keeping your username and password confidential, and for actions taken from your account. Sharing an account between several people, or holding several accounts in the same league, is not permitted. The service is intended for people aged fifteen or over. Below that age, registration requires the prior agreement of the holder of parental authority. The publisher may suspend or close an account in the event of a breach of these terms, fraud, or harm to the service or to other players.
3. Player-generated content
Club and player names, colours and crests, and messages exchanged in league chatrooms are the sole responsibility of their author. Any abusive, hateful, discriminatory or unlawful content, or content infringing the rights of a third party, may be removed without notice and may lead to suspension of the account. You may report such content through the contact page; the publisher will respond within a reasonable time.
4. Virtual items: points, bonuses, badges
Bonus points, bonuses, badges, players, clubs and results obtained in the game have no real monetary value. They cannot be traded outside the game, resold or converted into money, and exist only within the service. Buying a pack of points does not make you the owner of any property: it opens up a use within the game, within the limits set out below.
5. What is offered for sale
The game is fully playable without spending anything. The following are offered in addition, on a strictly optional basis: — customising the names and appearance of players; — customising the colours and crest of the club; — scouting opponents; — the Infinity Pass, which opens division promotion to an entire league, on a quarterly or annual basis; — packs of bonus points (10, 25, 50, 100 or 500 points), credited to the club of the manager who buys them. The first four options are a matter of convenience or presentation. Bonus points, by contrast, allow you to buy bonuses in the shop that do have an effect in the game; those same bonuses can also be earned by playing, without paying. They are neither offered nor sold in a league set to serious mode, where the bonus shop is closed to everyone.
6. Prices
Prices are shown in euros, inclusive of all taxes, in the shop and on the “My account” page. The applicable price is the one displayed when you place your order; the publisher may change it at any time for the future, without affecting orders already placed. The Infinity Pass is charged per human manager in the league concerned: the amount displayed reflects the number of human managers present at the time of purchase, and that number is then fixed in the order. Displayed prices include French VAT at the standard rate of 20%. The publisher's intra-Community VAT number is FR44814922845.
7. Ordering and payment
Payment is made online by bank card through Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. Your card details are entered directly with that provider: they do not pass through the game's servers and are never stored there. The order amount is calculated by the game's server from the prices in force; it is never supplied by your browser. The order becomes final once the provider confirms payment. An order may be refused where fraud is suspected or where the product is not available in your situation in the game — for instance bonus points in a league set to serious mode.
8. Activation and receipt
The feature you buy is activated as soon as payment is confirmed, with nothing further required from you. If confirmation is delayed, activation takes place as soon as it reaches the game: there is no need to order again, and granting the same order twice is technically ruled out. A receipt is sent by email to the address linked to the account, where one has been provided. All your purchases remain visible from the “My account” page.
9. Duration, and no automatic renewal
Customisation options and scouting run for three hundred and sixty-five days. The Infinity Pass runs for ninety days on the quarterly plan and three hundred and sixty-five days on the annual plan. Bonus points do not expire: they stay to the club's credit until spent. This is not a subscription: there is no recurring charge and no tacit renewal. At the end of the period, the option simply lapses. A further purchase made before that date extends the current period rather than replacing it.
10. Right of withdrawal
The features sold are digital content supplied without a tangible medium. You are in principle entitled to a fourteen-day withdrawal period from the conclusion of the contract. However, performance of your order begins immediately after payment, at your express request: by confirming the order you request that immediate performance and acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal once the feature is activated, in accordance with article L. 221-28, 13° of the French Consumer Code. The same applies to bonus points, which are credited at once. If you wish to retain that right, do not confirm the order.
11. Legal guarantee, refunds and incidents
The legal guarantee of conformity for digital content (articles L. 224-25-12 et seq. of the French Consumer Code) applies as of right: if the feature you bought does not work as described, the publisher will bring it into conformity free of charge; if that proves impossible, you may obtain a price reduction or a refund. Outside that case, a purchase that has been performed is not refunded. The publisher will nonetheless refund, of its own accord, any order that was charged but whose feature was never activated because of a technical incident, as well as any unintended double charge: write through the contact page quoting the order reference. These rights are yours whatever the provisions above may say.
12. Availability and possible discontinuation
The service is provided “as is”. It may be interrupted for maintenance, updates or incidents. The publisher does not guarantee continuous availability and cannot be held liable for the consequences of a temporary interruption on the course of a game. Should the service be discontinued for good, the publisher undertakes to inform players at least thirty days in advance, by email and on the site, and to refund on a pro rata basis the unused portion of any paid options then running.
13. Account deletion
You may delete your account at any time from the “My account” page. Deletion is final and immediate: club, players, history and bonus points are lost, as are any paid options in progress, with no refund of the unused portion. The game warns you of this consequence before asking you to confirm. Accounting records relating to your purchases are kept in anonymised form, for the period required by law, to meet the publisher's tax and accounting obligations.
14. Complaints
For any complaint, write first to the publisher through the contact page: most difficulties are settled that way.
15. Governing law, language and changes
These terms are governed by French law. If you are a consumer resident in another European Union country, you retain the benefit of the more protective mandatory provisions of your country of residence. They are drafted in French; the translations offered on the site are provided for convenience and, in the event of any discrepancy, the French version prevails. The publisher may amend them. The version applicable to a purchase is the one in force on the day of the order; the version applicable to use of the game is the one published on this page, whose update date appears at the top.