At the end of this month, English football at every level will unite to promote Play Safe – a national campaign to focus attention of 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 encourage all parents/carers to complete the new FA online safeguarding awareness course. It's free, takes less than 30 minutes and can be found here: Safeguarding Awareness Course for Parents and Carers

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.

Kirsty Butcher, Co-Chair of Crawley & Maidenbower Panthers FC, said “Providing a fun and safe environment for all children to learn and play football is our number one priority as a club. We are determined to ensure that everybody can enjoy the game without fear and that everyone associated with the club is aware of their role in delivering on this commitment.”

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 people to contact at Crawley & Maidenbower Panthers are our Club Welfare Officers - Margaret Emney and Julie Findlay. Their contact details can be found here: Child Safeguarding Advice.

Together, let’s create an ever-safer culture across the game we all love.