English football unites this weekend to promote Play Safe – our nationwide campaign to focus attention of the vital importance of safeguarding across our national game.
The Play Safe campaign is endorsed by the NSPCC and will be supported this weekend [28-29 September] across every level of English football, including the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League, Barclays Women’s Championship, National League and across the grassroots game.
This year’s Play Safe campaign focuses on the safeguarding role that everyone can play – coaches, players, parents/carers, spectators or volunteers – to keep children and young people safe, no matter what the football setting.
To support the campaign, a series of Know Your Role videos have been launched across England Football channels, highlighting the different roles around football and everyone’s responsibility in safeguarding.
England Football has also produced a special video with three survivors of non-recent childhood sexual abuse in football, who share their experiences and discuss how safeguarding requires adults, including parents/carers to spot the signs, ask the right questions and speak up to prevent abuse from happening.
On the pitch, grassroots youth team captains will be wearing Play Safe armbands and youth team coaches wearing Play Safe pin badges, up and down the country in support.
In addition, County FAs, as well as leagues and clubs at every level, are being provided with digital and print assets. A specially commissioned Play Safe film has also been provided for County FAs, leagues and clubs to link to via their websites and social media.
As part of this year’s Play Safe campaign, we are once again promoting our free online Safeguarding Awareness Course for Parents & Carers to raise awareness around safeguarding and how to report any concerns. The free course provides invaluable information that guides parents and carers through questions they should ask to ensure the club or venue where children play football has the correct safeguarding policies, people and practices in place.
The FA’s Head of Safeguarding, Sue Ravenlaw, said: “The central push behind this year’s Play Safe weekend is to create awareness for the vital safeguarding role they can play in football. It really is about Everyone, Everywhere, Every Time.
“The Play Safe weekend is a fantastic way of highlighting the importance of safeguarding and putting this at the forefront of people’s minds, not just for this weekend, but throughout the season. This year, our campaign is for everyone to know their role in safeguarding, and we look forward to seeing clubs at every level of the game showing their support across the weekend, to make sure football is safe, fun, and enjoyable for all.”
The FA’s Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group [FASSSAG] has added its support to the campaign: “It’s essential that everyone in football – no matter if they’re actively involved, or on the sidelines – understands that they have an ongoing safeguarding role to play. Obviously Play Safe is 24/7 and 365, as is reflected in the Play Safe messaging of ‘everyone, everywhere and every time’, but this weekend helps with raising awareness of how everyone can help to create safe and positive football spaces, what inappropriate behaviours look, sound, and feel like and importantly how to report concerns.”
NSPCC CEO, Peter Wanless, said: “Everyone has a role to play in preventing abuse and we’re gratified to see The FA once more promoting safeguarding awareness in football through Play Safe. It’s also great to see Play Safe is again supported by every level of football in England. The weekend precedes our Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport Week, 7-11 October, which focuses on the importance of community in safeguarding in sport, physical activity, and movement.”
You can read more about Play Safe 2024 here: https://www.englandfootball.com/playsafe
For more information on the FA’s Safeguarding Awareness course for Parents and Carers, click here.
