Independent. Evidence-led. Globally Connected.
Safe Sport International (SSI) is the independent global body dedicated to advancing safe sport through evidence, accountability, and collaboration.
Everyone, everywhere, safe in sport
Safe Sport International (SSI) is the independent global body dedicated to advancing safe sport through evidence, accountability, and collaboration.
We unite the people and organisations working to prevent harm in sport – policy leaders, practitioners, survivors, researchers, and advocates – to build safer systems and cultures worldwide.
Our role is to convene, connect, and catalyse change: translating research and lived experience into practical solutions that improve safeguarding standards, strengthen accountability, and ensure safety is a lived reality for everyone in sport.
Safe Sport International
Founded in 2014, Safe Sport International is a UK registered charity and the first independent global organisation dedicated to preventing violence, harassment and abuse in sport. Its origins reach back to the feminist scholars, survivor advocates, and child‑protection practitioners who, from the 1970s onwards, challenged dominant narratives that portrayed sport as inherently safe, virtuous, and self‑regulating.
Working in environments of resistance and at times open hostility, early pioneers documented sexual harassment, abuse, discrimination, and structural power imbalances – often at significant personal and professional cost. Co-founders of SSI, Celia Brackenridge, Kari Fasting, Sandi Kirby and Anne Tiivas exposed systemic shortcomings and harmful cultures long before safeguarding in sport frameworks existed.
Why safeguarding matters
At Safe Sport International we champion the highest safeguarding standards to protect participants from harm, abuse, and misconduct.
Whether you’re an athlete, coach, or sports organisation, understanding safeguarding is essential for fostering trust, well-being, and integrity in sport.
Explore the key principles, real-world impacts, and how you can be part of the movement to make sport safer for all. Together, we can ensure that sport remains a positive force for everyone. SSI is a global leader in safeguarding in and through sport, promoting safe, inclusive environments free from violence, harassment, abuse or harm.
Safeguarding courses for all levels.
Ensuring the safety of athletes is not optional — it’s essential.
SSI’s accredited online safeguarding courses provide sports organisations, coaches, and professionals with expert-led training to meet the highest safeguarding standards.
With tailored learning paths and flexible online access, including our i-Protect foundation courses for FREE, our courses equip you with the tools and confidence to create a safer sporting environment.
Check out our FREE i-Protect courses
Tailored consultancy packages to meet your needs
At Safe Sport International (SSI), we believe that safeguarding isn’t just a legal requirement—it’s a fundamental responsibility. Our expert consultancy services help sports organisations, clubs, and governing bodies implement robust safeguarding policies, meet compliance standards, and create safer environments for athletes, coaches, and staff.
Our consultancy packages are designed to support sports professionals at all levels—from individuals seeking essential safeguarding knowledge to organisations requiring advanced compliance and crisis management solutions.
You can view all of our consultancy packages HERE, or alternatively click below to book an initial consultation with one of our team.
Setting the standards since 2014
Sport can be a place of enjoyment, development, belonging and human flourishing, but only where safety, rights, equity, and justice are actively protected. Where power is abused, dependency is exploited, boundaries are violated, or success is placed above people, sport can become a place of profound harm.
Violence, harassment and abuse in and through sport is never acceptable. Acts such as these contravene articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, but also policy and position statements from (amongst others) Safe Sport International, the International Olympic Committee, the Commonwealth Games Federation, World Players Association, and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights.
The International Safe Sport Principles, the International Safeguards for Children in Sport, the International Safeguards for Children in Esports and the International Safeguards for Adults in Sport form an inclusive set of standards in safe sport.
