New Zealand Football has released guidance for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults ahead of the start of the new community football season.

The guidance outlines the steps that should be taken to safeguard children, vulnerable adults and those who work with them, including protocols for arranging police vetting and what to do if concerns for participant safety arise.

The guidance comes as a result of two years of work to ensure all available tools are utilised to provide a safe environment for everyone to play the game.

As part of New Zealand Football’s commitment to safety, a centralised police vetting system has been developed to allow football clubs and other football service providers to undertake police vetting for any paid staff or volunteers who have regular or overnight contact with children or vulnerable adults, at no cost.

“This is a significant piece of work that will make football safer for participants” says Daniel Farrow, General Manager, Football at New Zealand Football.

“We strongly encourage clubs and football organisations who work with children and vulnerable adults to implement this guidance to ensure the welfare of their players.

“As part of our commitment to safety, we will cover the cost of providing the police vetting service to the football community to help remove any cost barriers to implementing the guidance.

More detailed information on the Safeguarding Programme, and the safeguarding toolkit, can be found at nzfootball.co.nz/safeguarding (available from today). 

Article added: Wednesday 01 March 2023