ADVERTISING POLICY & AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Editorial independence

Advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate relationships do not influence our newsroom decisions. Paid placements are clearly labeled as "Advertisement", "Sponsored", or "Sponsored Links." See our Editorial Policy.

Ad formats we may use

• Display (responsive in-article, in-feed, sidebar).
• Multiplex/Recommendation units.
• Auto ads such as anchor or vignette where permitted by the ad platform.
• Native in-article units that are visually distinct from editorial copy.

We aim to avoid disruptive experiences (e.g., auto-play sound, pop-unders, layouts that cover content).

Placement & user experience

• Ads are positioned to avoid accidental clicks—not placed immediately adjacent to primary navigation, menus, or interactive controls (e.g., "Share", "Comment").
• We reserve fixed space for ads to reduce layout shift and maintain readable line lengths.
• We do not auto-refresh ad iframes or otherwise manipulate delivery beyond platform rules.
• We do not ask users to click ads, and we do not incentivize clicking.

Policies & compliance

• We follow the policies of our ad partners (e.g., AdSense/Ad Manager) and applicable advertising standards.
• For users in EEA/UK/CH, we honor consent preferences via a consent management platform (CMP) and support non-personalized ads when applicable. See our Privacy Policy.
• We maintain an /ads.txt file on our root domain listing authorized sellers.

Quality control & reporting

We strive to block categories that conflict with our standards (e.g., deceptive, offensive, or unsafe content) where partner tools allow.

If you see an inappropriate ad, please email ads@thegoaltimes.com with a screenshot, URL, and time; we will investigate and, where possible, block it.

Sponsored content

Any article or video produced in partnership with a sponsor is labeled "Sponsored" (or an equivalent notice) and includes a short disclosure at the top of the page.

Sponsors do not review or approve unrelated editorial coverage.

Affiliate disclosure

Some articles may contain affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Affiliate relationships do not determine which products, teams, or services we cover or the conclusions we draw.

Affiliate links are ordinary outbound links with tracking parameters provided by merchants or networks. Data use for such links is governed by our Privacy Policy and the merchant's policy.

Third-party scripts & embeds

We use third-party ad tags/embeds only from trusted partners under contractual safeguards.

Embedded content (e.g., videos, social posts) may load third-party resources. Those providers may collect data per their own terms; see our Privacy Policy.

Children & sensitive categories

Our site is not directed to children under 13 (or local equivalent).

We avoid ad categories that are not appropriate for a general sports audience where partner controls allow.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect new ad formats, partners, or legal requirements. The latest version will be posted with the Effective date above.