Safeguarding Children in Sport Worldwide

Lucy Burrows

Published

19th February, 2026

Access control Safeguarding

Why accreditation is now a governance requirement, not an administrative process

Millions of children participate in sport through clubs, academies, federations, competitions, and development programmes worldwide. Young athletes train, travel, and compete under the supervision of coaches, volunteers, officials, and staff – often without parents present.

In these environments, safeguarding cannot rely on informal oversight. When access to facilities, teams, and restricted areas is managed through spreadsheets, manual processes, or informal recognition, organisations lose visibility over who is authorised to be around young athletes.

Global safeguarding frameworks make clear that protecting children in sport is a governance responsibility.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requires states and organisations to protect children from violence, abuse, and exploitation while they are under the care of responsible adults.

Within sport, the International Safeguards for Children in Sport provide a widely adopted framework for creating safer environments through safer recruitment, risk management, codes of conduct, and monitoring systems.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also emphasised that sports organisations must implement safeguarding policies, procedures, and governance structures designed to actively prevent harm and protect athletes within sporting environments.

Together, these frameworks highlight an important reality: safeguarding must be supported by operational systems, not policy alone.

Why access control is a safeguarding issue

Many safeguarding risks arise not from missing policies, but from operational gaps such as:

Adults gaining access to youth-only areas, such as changing rooms, treatment rooms, or team facilities
Unclear permissions between coaches, volunteers, contractors, and operational staff
Manual accreditation processes that cannot adapt to staffing changes
Limited records showing who approved access and when it was granted or removed

These challenges sit directly at the intersection of safeguarding and operational control.

Accreditation – when implemented properly – is not simply about producing badges. It is an access governance system that determines:

Identity: who someone is
Eligibility: whether they are approved for a role
Permissions: where they may go and under what conditions
Accountability: a record of access decisions and changes

These controls align closely with the governance mechanisms outlined in international safeguarding frameworks.

Safer recruitment is only the starting point

Safeguarding standards consistently require screening and background checks for adults working with children.

Examples include:

England & Wales: Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
Australia: Working With Children Check (WWCC) schemes operating across states and territories
Canada: Vulnerable Sector Checks administered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
United States: Background checks and safeguarding requirements guided by the U.S. Center for SafeSport and the Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017

These processes establish whether individuals are eligible to work with children. However, safeguarding also requires systems that ensure verification occurs before access is granted and that permissions are removed when roles change.

Accreditation systems provide this operational layer, ensuring eligibility checks, approvals, and access permissions are managed together rather than in disconnected processes.

Where accreditation strengthens safeguarding governance

For federations, clubs, academies, and event organisers, accreditation helps translate safeguarding policies into enforceable operational controls.

Role-based access control ensures individuals only have permissions aligned with their responsibilities, separating youth participants, staff, contractors, and visitors.

Eligibility gating ensures access cannot be issued until required documentation, screening checks, and approvals are completed.

Real-time access control allows organisations to update or revoke permissions immediately as roles change.

Auditability provides clear records of who approved access, what role the individual held, and when permissions were granted or removed.

Together, these capabilities strengthen governance and help organisations maintain consistent safeguarding standards across facilities, competitions, and youth programmes.

Supporting safer sporting environments

Accredit Solutions helps sports organisations implement these controls through an accreditation platform that connects identity verification, eligibility approvals, and role-based access permissions within a single operational system.

By replacing spreadsheets and manual processes, federations, clubs, and major events gain real-time visibility of who is authorised within their environments – strengthening safeguarding oversight while maintaining operational efficiency.

In environments where the safety of young athletes must come first, accreditation is not simply administrative. It is a critical component of governance and a duty of care.