Share:
On August 8, Safe Sport Day 2026 will ask everyone involved in sport to consider a straightforward question: What part can you play in making sport safer?
Led by Safe Sport International, this year’s campaign “Stand up. Speak out. Play your part,” calls on athletes, coaches, volunteers, governing bodies, sponsors and community organizations to help create environments where people feel safe, respected and heard.
The day comes as safeguarding receives growing attention, but evidence continues to show that policies and public commitments alone are not enough. UNESCO reports that 21% of women athletes and 11% of men surveyed experienced at least one form of sexual abuse as a child in sport.
Behind those figures are people whose experiences were shaped not only by individual acts of harm, but by cultures and systems that failed to prevent abuse, respond appropriately or make it safe to speak up.
Safe Sport Day gives organizations an opportunity to examine what that looks like in practice. That could mean reviewing reporting processes, strengthening recruitment and training, assessing risks or creating better ways for participants to shape decisions that affect them.
The campaign follows the Safe Sport International Global Conference in Cape Town this past May, where researchers, athletes, practitioners and sport leaders explored how stronger collaboration, lived experience and evidence can improve safety across the sector.
It also connects to the International Safeguards for Children in Sport, a practical framework covering policy, reporting, training, risk reduction, safer recruitment and accountability. First launched at the Beyond Sport Summit in 2014, the Safeguards were developed with input from more than 50 organizations working across different sporting contexts.
Organizations taking part in Safe Sport Day can sign the International Safeguards pledge, access campaign resources and identify practical actions for their own work.
Visible support can help start the conversation. The more important test is whether safeguarding becomes part of how sport is governed and delivered every day.
Safe Sport Day takes place August 8, 2026.
Learn more, download the toolkit and take the pledge through Safe Sport International.
Share:
