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Safeguarding in sport is usually framed as something organizations need to have in place: a policy, a reporting process, a training requirement, a set of standards.
But in community sport settings, especially those working with children, young people and communities that may face heightened risk, safeguarding is most effective when policies are matched by everyday practices, clear reporting pathways and trusted relationships.
It is part of how trust is built, how concerns are handled and how people are protected in the places they train, play, coach, volunteer and belong.
A 2025 study by the Funder Safeguarding Collaborative and Accountable Now explains why that distinction matters. The research drew on input from 87 grant-makers, 285 grantee partners and 55 sector professionals. It found that safeguarding works best when funders take a more consistent approach. It also highlighted the importance of flexible requirements that reflect local contexts and of strong trust-based relationships between funders and grantee partners.
That matters because funders can help raise safeguarding standards, but they can also unintentionally add pressure when requirements are inconsistent, overly complex or disconnected from how organizations actually work. For smaller community sport organizations, navigating different policies, templates, checks and reporting processes can take time away from strengthening the everyday culture of safety they are trying to build.
That is the gap the Sport Funders Alliance is beginning to explore. As recently reported by sportanddev.org, the emerging Alliance is contributing sport-sector perspectives to wider efforts to improve safeguarding practice across grantmaking.
This work is being led by the Funder Safeguarding Collaborative, a network of grant-makers focused on strengthening safeguarding across philanthropy, and Accountable Now, an international nonprofit that promotes transparency, accountability and responsible practice in the social sector. Together, they are developing approaches to safeguarding that better support both funders and grantee partners.
The aim is to help future funder standards better reflect the realities of sport and sport-for-development organizations.
The work comes at a time when safeguarding is gaining attention across the global sport sector. In Canada, Sport Integrity Canada launched a public Safe Sport Registry this past spring to list individuals banned or suspended from sport for misconduct, helping make sanctions more visible across organizations and reducing the risk of people moving quietly between sport settings.
Globally, Safe Sport International continues to support safer sport environments through learning, standards and advocacy. International Safeguards for Children in Sport provide a practical framework for organizations to strengthen policies, reporting procedures, behavior guidelines, recruitment, training and monitoring.
Advocacy organizations are also helping move the conversation from awareness to action. In the U.S., We Ride Together works to prevent sexual abuse in youth and amateur sport through education, awareness and survivor-centered resources. Its work has also reached international sport through a partnership with the Fédération Equestre Internationale to create an online safeguarding training course for equestrian communities.
Survivor-led organizations are pushing the sector toward greater accountability, too. The Assist, formerly The Army of Survivors, was founded by athletes who experienced sexual abuse in sport and has become a leading survivor-led advocacy organization in the United States. The organization provides support and resources for athlete survivors while also advancing policy reform, strengthening safeguarding measures and promoting greater transparency and accountability across sport systems.
Together, these efforts reflect a broader shift in how safeguarding is understood. Creating safer sport environments is not solely the responsibility of individual organizations. Safeguarding policies are developed and influenced by governance, funding, education, reporting systems and the support systems available to participants and survivors when concerns arise.
For the sport-for-change sector, that means safeguarding should not become another box to tick before the “real” work begins. It is part of the foundational work of program development. People cannot fully experience the benefits of sport if the spaces around them are not safe, trusted and prepared to respond.
It also means that organizations need practical support. The Beyond Sport Community Portal connects nonprofit and mission-driven organizations to resources on safeguarding, creating safer environments and other core policies that help strengthen internal practice. It is just one of many resources available to the sport for social change community.
The goal is not more paperwork. It is creating safer sport environments that enable our communities to play, move and compete with confidence.
Practical Safeguarding Resources to explore:
- Beyond Sport Community Portal – A free platform where nonprofit and mission-driven sport organizations can access resources on safeguarding, creating safer environments and other core policies that support strong organizational practice.
- International Safeguards for Children in Sport –A global framework, shaped in part by Beyond Sport’s early contributions to UNICEF’s safeguarding work, to help organizations assess and strengthen policies, reporting procedures, behavior guidelines, recruitment, training and monitoring.
- Safe Sport International Courses & Resources – A collection of safeguarding learning, guidance and support tools for sport organizations, coaches and practitioners.
- We Ride Together Resources – Survivor-centered resources and education focused on preventing sexual abuse and misconduct in youth and amateur sport.
- U.S. Center for SafeSport Training – Online training to help sport participants prevent, recognize and respond to abuse and misconduct.
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