The below article highlights some key points from The FA's annual review of their safeguarding strategy. The full report can be found at the bottom of this page.

The final year of our current safeguarding strategy – Building an Ever-Safer Culture – has seen progress across all areas of the vital work to keep football safe, fun and enjoyable for all across the game.

Highlights include 100 per cent of County FAs retaining the independently-assessed stringent FA Safeguarding Standard, with the English Schools FA and Independent Schools FA also achieving the Standard.

The same 100 per cent figure applies to other areas of the strategy’s aims: every Barclays WSL and Women’s Championship club has a full-time designated safeguarding officer and named board safeguarding lead, with all clubs needing to demonstrate they meet the safeguarding requirements.

In the men’s professional game, there have also been positive outcomes from the independent safeguarding audits of Premier League and EFL clubs and their Club Community organisations. Beyond the audits, the leagues and clubs ensure safeguarding remains a constant priority via year-round support, education and training.   

Another area of progress has seen 100 per cent of all National League System club welfare officers receiving safeguarding training via a workshop, with key safeguarding criteria built into the specific club licence for this level of the men’s game – the steps immediately below the professional echelon.

“We’re pleased with progress this season, including the widening reach of the annual Play Safe weekend which heightens awareness of the importance of safeguarding,” says Sue Ravenlaw, FA head of safeguarding. “Last year we reached three million people via social media, with our main message of ‘Everyone, Everywhere, Every Time’ – in other words that safeguarding is always everyone’s responsibility, irrespective of their specific involvement in football.”

Our preventative safeguarding work is informed by the invaluable voice of the FA Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group (FASSSAG), whose members have been out and about throughout the year educating and informing the game and wider stakeholders based on their lived experience.

“Of course, there have also been challenges, including the constantly changing landscape in which safeguards need to be embedded across the game and the dynamic nature of the concerns that arise in safeguarding. We’re all aware that this work is never done,” says Sue. 

Key to this work is ensuring people know how to report concerns. Greater awareness of reporting channels has inevitably resulted in more cases, but as Sarah Walker, head of safeguarding case management, says: “While we’ve seen an increase in referrals and active cases, our case management team has been able to complete 95 per cent of initial assessments of referrals received by the FA within two working days. 

“Given the workforce across the game also fluctuates, ensuring everyone is aware of how to raise and report concerns remains a core part of the new targets underpinning our next four-year safeguarding strategy, to be published later this year.”

To read the year 3 review and report in full, please download the document here: FA Safeguarding Strategy - Year 3 Review