StepChange 2026
from paper
to pitch
A free online event series sharing actionable real-world practice behind safer football pathways
16-20 November 2026 | Online | Free to attend | Sessions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese
Safeguarding the elite player pathway in football
Taking place from 16–20 November 2026, StepChange 2026: From Paper to Pitch will explore how football can strengthen safeguarding from policy to practice.
Elite player pathways can open life-changing opportunities for children and young people. They can also create environments of pressure, uncertainty, power imbalance and risk.
StepChange 2026: From Paper to Pitch is a free online event series led by the Project StepChange Team at Loughborough University, bringing together survivors, players, and professionals working across elite sport, safeguarding and player care. Through real-world insights, lived experience and practical approaches, the series will explore how we can better recognise, respond to and prevent safeguarding concerns across elite football academies.
Across the week, sessions will focus on player care and prevention, responding to safeguarding concerns, Member Association support, and women and girls’ football. A dedicated survivor panel will provide a carefully facilitated space to listen to lived experience and reflect on what it can tell us about the realities of safeguarding, with survivor perspectives contributing to the wider conversation about creating safer environments.
This event series is about moving safeguarding from the page into the everyday environments where children and young people train, compete, develop and belong.
Event Snapshot
StepChange 2026 is focused on strengthening safeguarding across the elite player pathway in football
The online event series will share learning from the project and invite participants to consider what practical safeguarding action can look like across different roles, settings and responsibilities.
Who should attend?
- Football clubs and academies
- Safeguarding leads and welfare officers
- Player support network (parents/carers, sport psychologists, agents, etc.)
- Coaches and coach developers
- National associations, federations and governing bodies
- Researchers, academic teams and students
- Policy, integrity and governance leads
- Education and training providers
- Practitioners working with children and young people in sport
- Organisations supporting athlete voice, welfare and rights
Whether your work is focused on research, policy, delivery, welfare, governance or day-to-day player support, this series will offer space to connect evidence with practical safeguarding action.
What you will gain
Participants will be invited to explore the safeguarding realities of elite player pathways and consider how research-informed learning can be used to strengthen practice.
Practical insight
Understand key safeguarding considerations across elite football pathways.
Ongoing resources
Access materials and recordings to support learning beyond the live sessions.
Community of practice
Connect with others working across football, safeguarding, research and player support.
Role-relevant reflection
Consider what safer practice means in your own setting or area of responsibility.
Certificate of participation
Record your continuing professional development.
StepChange 2026: Programme
The event series will explore how safeguarding can be strengthened across the elite player pathway, bringing together player and survivor voices with the perspectives of those working in football and safeguarding. Through practical sessions and shared experiences, the series will consider how to create safer environments, recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns, and strengthen safeguarding practice across the game.
DAY 1 – Monday, November 16
Session 1: The Importance of Safeguarding and Player Care in Football Academies | 2-3pm UK TIME
Session 2: Survivors’ Voice | 3pm-4pm UK TIME
DAY 2 – Tuesday, November 17
Session 1: The role of Member Associations in Supporting Safeguarding and Player Care in Academies | 2pm-3pm UK TIME
Session 2: Young Voices in Football | 3pm-4pm UK TIME
DAY 3 – Wednesday, November 18
Session 1: Proactive Protection within Football Academies | 2pm-3pm UK TIME
Session 2: Women and Girls’ Football | 3pm-4pm UK TIME
DAY 4 – Thursday, November 19
Session 1: How to Respond to Safeguarding Concerns in Academies | 2pm-3pm UK TIME
Session 2: Session delivered in Portuguese | 3pm-4pm UK TIME
DAY 5 – Friday, November 20
Session 1: Session delivered in Spanish | 2pm-3pm UK TIME
Session 2: Promoting Player Care within Academies | 3pm-4pm UK TIME
Register your interest to receive programme updates
A safe and inclusive online event
The event will be delivered with safeguarding, accessibility and participant welfare in mind.
Participants will receive clear joining information, online participation guidance and details of how to access support during the event. The event team will provide moderation, technical support and safeguarding oversight to help create a respectful and inclusive environment for learning and discussion.
(Please note that there will live captions in multiple languages and there will also be translated session transcripts made available after the event).
Further participant guidance will be shared with registered attendees before the event.
StepChange 2026: from paper to pitch is free to attend
Step 2 ------------>
Follow the link provided to join the conference mini-site on the Safe Sport Connect app.
Step 3
Connect with others attending, get updates about the programme, speakers, and join sessions live.
Continuing the conversation
The value of Project StepChange: from paper to pitch will continue beyond the live event series.
Recordings, resources and follow-up materials will be made available after the event, supporting continued learning and discussion through Safe Sport Connect, Safe Sport International’s online community of practice.
