Strategies for the implementation of safeguarding and protection policies in sport

Sports consultant at Avento and professor of Sports Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of The Basque Country. PhD in Psychology, Masters degree in Equality of women and men and University Specialist in Psychology of Physical Activity and Sport. Specialized in the incorporation of gender perspective in sport. She has developed projects related to this issue for public institutions at territorial, regional, national and international level. She has been the keynote speaker in the I and II State Conferences on Women and Sport in 2017 and 2019, and has participated with papers in the last 4 of the 8 World Conferences on Women and Sport held to date. She has carried out pioneering work on the prevention of sexual violence against women in sport, designing a specific Guide for Emakunde/Basque Women's Institute in 2015, or developing applied work in Real Sociedad de Fútbol SAD since 2017. Since 2021 she is an online facilitator for Spanish-speaking learners in FIFA Guardians program.

Graduated in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, and after completing the University Master's Degree in Teacher Training for Compulsory Secondary Education, Vocational Training and Language Teaching, he develops his professional work as a Public Secondary Education Teacher in the Basque Autonomous Region. Since 2015 he has developed various activities in the FKE Mundarro of Astigarraga, among which is currently the administration of the club.

Director at Performance, Wellbeing and Safeguarding LTD. Supports performance sport at world and national governing body level including the Premier League and UK Sport, and former roles includes safeguarding lead for men's football at Arsenal FC.

Ane Lasa Lazcano has a degree in Teaching. She has worked in the field of education for the last 33 years. At first as a leisure time monitor and then working in the Herrikide educational center in different areas: tutor, coordinator, quality technician, management. 'I dream of a society based on equal opportunities and human values. In 2022, a group of parents created the Aiztondo Neskide club to promote the empowerment of girls and the practice of team sports'. We are committed to making Aiztondo NKT a safe environment, implementing the necessary protocols and actions.

In December 2020, Marie-laure joined FIFA and a year later became Head of the Child Safeguarding and Protection Department within FIFA's Education and Social Responsibility Division. The main objective of the department is to support FIFA's 211 member federations around the world to improve the protection of everyone in their soccer activities.

Ben is a Professor in Sport Education at the Open University in the UK. He is a specialist in online learning in sport and established the first distance learning Degree programme in the subject in 2006. He has published books, papers and online courses on a range of topics from national elite sport systems, to sport psychology/coaching and the history of windsurfing. He has also acted as a consultant on BBC Sport programmes. In recent years he edited the 70 learning hours online FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Football Diploma.

Physical Education Teacher. Working alongside The FA Safeguarding Team to support and advise from a survivor’s unique perspective from strategy to implementation of various campaigns and initiatives to improve safeguarding in football at all levels of participation. As a ‘survivor’ of abuse in professional football I understand fully the challenges that face any survivor, I am living proof that our past does not define us as human beings and we can still achieve whatever we want through resilience and belief. I fight my own daily battles with my mental health as a result of my abuse and can proudly say that being the winner which I am I come out as champion most days.

Consultant at Performance, Wellbeing and Safeguarding LTD Extensive experience supporting player wellbeing at Premier League academies most recently as Academy Player Care Manager at Arsenal FC. A former academy graduate, who has also supported organisations in eSports and education.

Alex is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching Practice and Learning at the Open University. Prior to joining the Open University in 2018 Alex was a lecturer at the University of Chichester for 22 years specialising in teaching the sociology of sport and sport coaching. Alex has been a qualified coach since 1987 and holds the UEFA A licence. He has been employed in a part-time capacity as an academy coach at Portsmouth FC, head of a talent identification centre for Bournemouth FC, Technical Director for the Girls Centre of Excellence at Brighton and Hove Albion FC and a coach developer in the academy at Southampton FC. During the past 30 years he has worked for all four professional clubs on the south coast of England! Alex is a member of the FIFA Guardians project team, and during the past three years has been developing teaching and research interests around the relationship between coaching and children’s rights.