Safer Play Launches

UEFA Foundation and Common Goal launch a free e-course to address safeguarding issues in the sports for good sector 

Around the world organisations are using sports to achieve goals related to education, social inclusion, child protection, and empowerment. However, to ensure the well-being of participants, high-quality and holistic safeguarding training and practices are essential. Safeguarding failures are caused by deeply rooted structural imbalances that need to be addressed. 

The UEFA Foundation for Children and Common Goal have taken the initiative and teamed up to launch Safer Play, an open and free online safeguarding course.  The seven-module training programme was developed in collaboration with experts to educate, support, and raise awareness of coaches, volunteers, and everyone working in the sport for good sector.  

“As a free-of-charge, public, and self-paced online course, Safer Play targets the specificities of safeguarding in the sport for development field,” said Nil Delahaye, Common Goal’s Project Manager for Safeguarding and Peacebuilding. 

“Safer Play helps analyse how context-induced safeguarding risks create spaces of vulnerabilities around participants in development programmes, how to spot abuse, and how to create more inclusive spaces that promote the wellbeing of everyone.” 

The experts who helped develop Safer Play are members of the Common Goal Community from around the world. They worked together to share their diverse perspectives derived from their backgrounds and experiences.  

The contributing experts include Anirban Chakraborty (Dream a Dream, India), Daniel Thomae (trainging4changeS, South Africa), Delroy Alexander (Sacred Sports Foundation, St. Lucia), Dóra Gottgeisl (Oltalom Sport Association, Hungary), Pavithra K.L. (Dream a Dream, India), Tamara Awartani (Palestine Sports4Life, Palestine), Tímea Turcsik (Oltalom Sport Association, Hungary), and Yianny Ioannou (Tackle Africa, United Kingdom). 

Together, this cohort helped develop the course’s seven modules - 1) Understanding and mitigating risks, 2) Physical abuse, 3) Emotional abuse, 4) Sexual abuse, 5) Neglect, 6) Online abuse, and 7) How to build inclusive spaces.  

The learning methodology is based on raising awareness of safeguarding issues. To make the course accessible to a wide range of people, it is available in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish and includes accessibility features for people with special needs.  

Safer Play celebrated its launch by hosting online sessions in all four languages. Over 150 people from all around the world attended. The sessions gave participants the opportunity to learn about the e-course and the tools within it as well as exchange with each other about their most pressing safeguarding needs. 

In the Safer Play e-course, child-friendly content that can be shared by organisations is also available. This includes posters and posts for social media around raising awareness on different types of abuse, how one can get help in the organisation, and the organisation’s commitment to protecting its young participants. 

It is vital every organisation puts safeguarding at the heart of their work. If you are interested in Safer Play, head to the e-course to learn more and get involved. Certificates are awarded to those who complete the course. 

Safer Play Arabic: https://common-goal.teachable.com/p/saferplay-ar 

Safer Play English: https://common-goal.teachable.com/p/saferplay-en  

Safer Play French: https://common-goal.teachable.com/p/saferplay-fr 

Safer Play Spanish: https://common-goal.teachable.com/p/saferplay-es