Although it runs throughout the year, Play Safe really comes to the fore over football’s National Safeguarding Weekend, held this year on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October. Our captain at Crystal Palace on Saturday will be wearing a Play Safe armband

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. ‘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.’

The importance of the Play Safe campaign is explained by Chelsea’s Safeguarding coordinator George Richardson: ‘All children and adults at risk have the right to be safe. This applies to all environments from home to school/work and in football. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We take pride in ensuring that their well-being is prioritised and at the centre of everything that we do here at Chelsea.

‘The Play Safe weekend is a great campaign to raise awareness of the vital importance of safeguarding in football and how everyone can play their part in ensuring that football is a safe space for all.’

Play Safe is being run in partnership with the NSPCC and has the full backing of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship. It’s also supported and being run across every other level of the game.

If there is anyone you are worried about from your activities or sessions, do not hesitate to report your concerns to the safeguarding team who will be able to support: [email protected]