Leicester City Backing Play Safe Campaign

English football will unite this weekend (1/2 October, 2022) to promote Play Safe – a countrywide campaign to focus attention on the vital importance of safeguarding in our national game.

Led by The FA, the Play Safe campaign is endorsed by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and will be supported across every level of English football, including the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship, and across the grassroots game.

The main focus this year is on parents and carers, with two key messages to convey: awareness of the vital safeguarding role parents/carers play in football; and encouragement to take the short, new and free online safeguarding course that’s been created specifically for parents/carers. You can access the course here.

Importantly, encouragement to take the new course has come from FASSSAG – The FA’s Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group: “We have inputted into the course and helped frame its key messages from our collective experiences.

“It’s vitally important to us that every parent/carer understands they role they need to play in football. Taking this course can make a real difference – we are asking every parent/carer to commit to help ensure football is ever-safer.”

The support of FASSSAG has been welcomed by FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham, himself a parent and youth football coach.

He said: “The FASSSAG has been important in helping us create our new strategy moving forwards and we really appreciate their input into the new course.  I have taken the new course and encourage all parents/carers across football to take it too.

“Ultimately, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We all need to ensure that everyone involved in football – particularly children and young people – has a consistently safe and positive experience of our great game.  Play Safe reminds everyone of that responsibility and keeps safeguarding front of mind, which is exactly where it should be.”