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This weekend, English football at every level will unite to promote Play Safe – a national campaign to focus attention on the vital importance of safeguarding in our national game.
Led by the Football Association, the Play Safe campaign is endorsed by the NSPCC and supported by every level of the game, including the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship, and right across the grassroots game.
We are proud to be supporting Play Safe on our website and social media channels – and also by making an online Play Safe Pledge.
Our pledge will see us ensure that all staff members advance through comprehensive recruitment processes to foster a supportive and safe environment for our players and work with an academy youth council for players to share their opinions and improve our programme for the young people we support.
Of course, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, so if you haven’t already, why not make your own Play Safe Pledge? We encourage you to do so.
“Safeguarding is about the processes we use to keep our players safe from a welfare point of view,” explained Under-21s Head Coach Luke Thomas-Arayo.
“Play Safe is a vital part of how we can create an environment where players feel valued because football is often an escape and it’s important to create an atmosphere where it’s okay for them to talk about their feelings and the challenges they face.
"Ultimately, Play Safe is great because it allows us to use football as a vessel to support our players on and off the pitch.”
This year’s Play Safe weekend has two main messages:
'Everyone, everywhere, every time’ should have an understanding of safeguarding in football;
Everyone should ‘watch, listen, talk and act’ if they have any safeguarding concerns.
If you have a safeguarding concern, or would like some advice, the person to contact at our academy staff via academy@londoncitylionesses.com.
Together, let’s create an ever-safer culture across the game we all love.