Football for Schools

Coach - Educators

Safeguarding
How to teach
Inclusive football
The Football for Schools programme is designed to ensure that playing is combined with learning. In this section you will find some guidance on how to deliver both football and life-skills activities, as well as some organisational tips to adapt the sessions to different scenarios.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding refers to actions taken to promote the wellbeing of children and to ensure they are safe from harm. It means proactively doing everything possible to minimise risk and prevent all forms of harassment, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of children.
FIFA has made safeguarding children in football a priority and requires all schools and coach-educators participating in the Football for Schools programme to ensure they are keeping children safe.
Schools taking part in the Football for Schools programme must have a child protection or safeguarding children policy in place and all coach-educators taking part in the programme should be vetted as being suitable to work with children. They should be trained in safeguarding practices and be familiar with their school’s child protection/safeguarding policy and procedures.
Teachers, coaches and other football staff and volunteers play an essential role in the sporting and social development of children. As such, you have a duty of care to create a safe, inclusive and positive environment for all boys and girls in the delivery of Football for Schools activities. It is important that everyone involved in this programme respects the rights and wellbeing of children in our game.
To confirm your absolute commitment to these values and to use the Football for Schools app coach-educators are required to:
Complete the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Essentials Online Training Course
E-Sign the Football for Schools code of conduct for Coach-Educators.
Complete all relevant training as required by your school, club, and national football association or other education that may be required by law in your country to work with children.
It is strongly recommended that all users of the Football for Schools App visit the Football for Schools website and the FIFA Guardian website to increase their awareness of safeguarding children in football.
Coach-educators should:
Be vetted as being suitable to work with children
Be familiar with and adhere to the safeguarding policies and procedures of their school, club, and national football federation.
Recognise safeguarding risks in football and how you can help to reduce risks
Understand the different types of child abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation
Know how to respond appropriately to concerns about a child.  This includes knowing who to contact and where to report concerns if you are worried about the well-being of a child.
Know how to conduct themselves when teaching/coaching football to create a safe, inclusive, and positive environment for children to participate in football
FIFA launched a major new global education programme to strengthen and build safeguarding capacity across football
FIFA Guardians™ develops first-ever global safeguarding in sport education programme
• New FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma aims to professionalise the role of safeguarding officers and raise safeguarding standards
• Programme available to all 211 FIFA member associations and anyone working or volunteering in grassroots or professional sport
• Become a FIFA Guardian – visit fifa.com/FIFAGuardians
FIFA announced the launch of the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma – a major new global education programme designed to strengthen and professionalise safeguarding standards across football. 
In line with FIFA’s long-term commitment to professionalise and embed child and adult safeguarding standards across the game, the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma is a landmark step in sport and provides the 211 FIFA member associations with a dedicated, interactive educational resource to develop safeguarding best practice.
Speaking about the new programme, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said:
“As part of my and FIFA’s absolute commitment and determination to kick harassment and abuse out of sport, the launch of today’s FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma is another critical step in supporting our 211 member associations to place safeguarding best practice at the heart of football and to help professionalise the role of safeguarding officers in sport”.
“Anyone who plays football, or indeed any sport, is entitled to enjoy it in a safe and supportive environment that, first and foremost, protects their well-being, especially where children are concerned. This is the objective of the FIFA Guardians Programme. Today, football is taking another important step in delivering on this objective, as well as on FIFA’s pledge to embed safeguarding measures across our game.”
Following on from the International Day of Education on 24 January, FIFA Legends from around the world, including Kaká, Rio Ferdinand, Lindsay Tarpley, Juan Pablo Ángel and Mbo Mpenza, have joined forces to highlight the importance of safeguarding and are encouraging people across football and other sports to take part.
“It’s up to us to protect and safeguard children in our game. FIFA Guardians is an essential safeguarding programme for anyone working or volunteering in football,” said Kaká.
“Let’s end child abuse in sport. FIFA Guardians is an essential safeguarding programme for anyone working or volunteering in football. Sign up today and learn more about safeguarding best practice,” added Rio Ferdinand.
Developed by FIFA and The Open University (OU) together with global safeguarding experts, practitioners and academics in the field, the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma is a complete open learning experience that will be available in English, French and Spanish. The programme will consist of five online courses primarily aimed at safeguarding officers at FIFA’s 211 member associations (“FIFA learners”).
FIFA learners will have access to dedicated webinars, moderated forums, interactive workshops and assessments that guide the learner through practical steps and examples of safeguarding best practice in sport.
The first dedicated workshop for FIFA learners is scheduled for the end of February as part of the ongoing two-year curriculum. FIFA learners will be required to complete the full programme to obtain the new FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma.
The five online courses will also be open and freely accessible to other learners who work or volunteer in, support or play sport and want to learn more about safeguarding. If all five courses are successfully completed, participants will be awarded the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sports Award by the OU.
Participants can choose from three learning pathways, depending on their background, and all 211 FIFA member associations are invited to enrol at least one person for the full FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma programme.
Participants from the global football community and other sports will be able to undertake course one – FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Essentials.
To register now and start your journey to becoming a FIFA Guardian, please visit fifa.com/FIFAGuardians.
Launched in July 2019, FIFA Guardians™ is a dedicated programme developed by FIFA to help and support member associations and confederations around the world in strengthening child and vulnerable adult safeguarding measures across football.
For more information about FIFA Guardians™, please click HERE.
The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. For more information about the OU, please visit: http://www.open.ac.uk/
Coach-educators delivering Football for Schools sessions are asked to adhere to the following code of conduct:
As a member of staff or volunteer, I will promote good practice and:
make Football for Schools a fun and inclusive experience
complete basic safeguarding awareness training.
respect the rights, dignity and worth of every child without discrimination on account of age, race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason.
always report any concern of poor practice or abuse immediately to the person responsible for safeguarding in the school or appropriate local authorities. I acknowledge that I must report any concerns I may have – no action is not an option.
lead by example when it comes to good sportsmanship and be a role model for children – this includes not drinking alcohol, taking drugs, or using foul, racist, homophobic, or other discriminatory language in the presence of children.
respect my position of trust and maintain appropriate boundaries with children.
work in an open environment and avoid spending time alone with children away from others.
arrive in sufficient time to set up activities and ensure that risk assessments are undertaken as necessary for all activities, programmes, and events involving children.
ensure children are safe by supervising appropriately and using safe training methods and techniques.
never engage in bullying behaviour.
challenge any form of bullying behaviour among and towards children.
communicate in a constructive, age-appropriate manner with children, never humiliating them.
provide meaningful opportunities that empower children to share in the decision-making process.
never condone rule violations, any form of violence or the use of prohibited substances.
ensure that confidential information is not divulged unless with the expressed approval of all those concerned or where a case warrants disclosure to relevant authorities.
I will never:
engage in or allow any verbal, physical or sexually provocative games with or inappropriate touching of children (contact with buttocks, genitals and breasts will be avoided).
engage in any sexual relationship with any player under 18 years of age, including making sexually suggestive comments to a child.
groom or exploit a child for personal and financial gain.
engage in inappropriate use of social media – this includes engaging children in private social media conversation and never posting comments that could compromise their well-being or cause them harm.
reduce a child to tears or scare or humiliate him/her as a form of control.
intentionally physically hurt or threaten to hurt a child – hitting and punching may be regulated forms of contact in some (combat) sports but have no place in football.
Coach-educators are required to sign the Football for Schools code of conduct using the Football for Schools App. This includes confirming that  you have never been subject to allegations of child abuse or convicted for sexual or other violent offences. I have never been subject to disciplinary proceedings related to harming children or disqualified from working with children in any country.
An important part of safeguarding is to identify risks before they happen. Once you know the risks you can then plan how they can be prevented and managed. When conducting football activities, it is important to ensure any risks in relation to the location, training facilities, other adults involved, and equipment are minimised by conducting a risk assessment as well as adhering to the school or club’s health and safety guidelines and child protection/safeguarding policy.
Risk management is a series of steps.
Risk assessments seek to identify the risk, the likelihood of the participants health and safety being impacted, the severity of the risk should an accident or incident occur, and the measures required to be taken to mitigate the risk. The more likely an accident occurring and the more severe its impact the more important mitigation of the risk.Inappropriately designed sessions can put children at risk of harm. Risk assessment is an ongoing process which should be conducted before every session and a record kept of each risk and steps taken to mitigate the risk.  As risks may arise during a session it may be necessary to stop sessions to mitigate a newly identified risk.
In addition, during any football activity, children always need to be supervised as the likelihood of accidents happening increases when adequate adult supervision is not in place.
Check if legislation or government guidelines in your country have nationally recommended supervision ratios. If there is no specific guidance on this in your country, the following adult-to-child ratios are recommended to help keep children safe:
when working with children between six and eight years of age, a ratio of one adult to 16 children should be adhered to.
when working with children between nine and twelve years of age, a ratio of one adult to 20 children should be adhered to.
If older learners are helping to supervise younger children, only those aged 18 or over should be included as adults when calculating adult to child ratios. All activities should always be planned to involve at least two adults. This is recommended safeguarding best practise.
The following factors should also be taken into consideration in deciding how many adults are required to safely supervise children:
the number of children involved in the football activity.
the age, maturity, and football experience of the children.
whether any of the members of staff, volunteers or children have a learning or physical disability or special requirements.
whether any of the children have challenging behaviour.
the hazards associated with the football activity.
the hazards associated with the environment.
the level of qualification and experience of the members of staff and volunteers.
the full programme of football activities.
General rules
Try to ensure that there is at least one adult per group of children of the same sex as the children involved.
Try to ensure that there is at least one adult of each sex with mixed groups.
All activities should be planned to involve at least two adults.
Adults should avoid being left alone with children.
All adults working directly with children should be subject to safe recruitment processes (“vetting”), sign up to the code of conduct and have completed safeguarding awareness training.
Changing rooms and showering facilities
Children are particularly vulnerable in changing areas due to various stages of dress/undress and because they are less supervised than at many other times. The risk of child-to-child problems, such as bullying, is also present when coaches or staff members are not supervising.
Coach-educators should consider:
Where facilities are used by both adults and children at the same time, there must be access to separate changing, showering and toilet areas.
Under no circumstances should adults be undressed in front of children in changing rooms.
Adult staff and volunteers must not change or shower at the same time as children using the same facilities.
For mixed- gender activities, separate facilities must be available for boys and girls.
If a child feels uncomfortable changing or showering in public, then no pressure should be placed on him/her to do so. Instead, he/ she should be encouraged to do so at home.
If disabled children need to use facilities, make sure they are accessible, and the disabled child and his/her carer are involved in deciding if and how they should be assisted. Make sure the child can consent to the assistance that is offered.
The use of mobile phones and/or photographic equipment with video recording capabilities by staff and volunteers and children themselves should be prohibited in general and should not be used under any circumstance in changing rooms.
Where no changing facilities are available, children and their parents or guardians should be made aware of this prior to practice and advised to make alternative arrangements and take appropriate additional clothing.
Parents should be discouraged from entering changing rooms unless it is necessary. In such circumstances, only a parent of the same sex as the children may enter the changing room and he/she should let the coach-educator know about this in advance. At least one member of staff of the same sex as the children involved should be present with the parent when other children are in the changing room.
Adult staff and volunteers, especially those of the opposite sex, should not be in the changing room when children are undressed.
Information for children
Age-appropriate information should be given to children to empower them so that they know who to speak to if they have any concerns. It is important they understand that they have the right to:
have fun and develop their football skills.
feel safe and happy.
be protected from bad behaviour, from adults or other children.
talk and be listened to, especially if they have concerns or do not feel safe.
know where to go for help or who to talk to if they are scared or worried about something.
be looked after if there is an accident or injury.
In facilitating this discussion with children, decide who would be the best person to lead this conversation. It may be the school welfare officer (or equivalent) or another staff member or an expert local NGO partner. Always ensure that at least two experienced adults conduct the session together. It is important children know that if they are worried about something, or if they do not feel safe, there are many people who can help. Encourage them to always talk to an adult whom they trust.
Further information
Some of the Football for Schools life-skills sessions focus on topics such as family life and help-seeking. It is possible therefore that in the process of leading one of the sessions, the coach-educator may be told something or come to suspect something which causes them to worry about the welfare or safety of a child. If concerned about someone’s safety, the coach-educator should always follow the advice in their school’s child protection/safeguarding policy and code of conduct.
Use your best judgement and always put a child’s best interests first. Consider the need for the child’s safety and which adults need to be involved to help keep the child safe. Do this in a way that respects people’s need for privacy whilst also seeking support and taking action.
Further information on safeguarding children in football visit the FIFA Guardians website.
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/toolkit-fifa-guardians.pdf?cloudid=nz1lyz3ykaioy7gwfmgs
How to teach﻿
The aim of the Football for Schools sessions is to develop the player and the person. The sessions deliver quality football activities aimed at developing football skills and life-skills, including health, social and emotional skills. Both the football and the life-skills are of equal importance and time should be allocated in sessions to both of these components.
Each Football for Schools session has been structured to include five elements which take a total of one hour to complete. Where coach-educators have less time than an hour to deliver their sessions, the elements of the session can be spread over two different sessions depending on the time available.
All Football for Schools sessions comprise five elements:
Opening Circle – coach-educator gathers players in a circle (standing), introduces the session, explains the intended football and life-skill outcomes, asks players to reflect briefly on the life-skill.
Warm-Up – coach-educator facilitates a football activity to mobilise the players.
Skill Development – coach-educator delivers practice that enables each player to work on the selected football skill.
Game Application – coach-educator sets up a football game that allows the players to practice the selected skill in a game situation.
Closing circle – coach-educator gathers players around in a circle (sitting), asks them to feedback on the practice, then to reflect on the life-skill and make connections to life outside of football.
Guidance is offered on the football and life-skills activities. Football activities are illustrated through video content and diagrams. There are organisational tips for coach-educators, options for making the activity easier or harder to better suit different players, questions you can ask players, and safety points.  Advice on life-skills includes how to introduce the life-skill during the opening circle, participatory activity fostering discussion and critical thinking related to the life skill during the closing circle, and questions to ask during the session.
Inclusive football
Football for Schools is an inclusive programme that aims to reach children and young people of all abilities and backgrounds. Coach-educators are encouraged to adapt sessions to meet the learning needs and abilities of individual players and make special efforts to include children and young people previously marginalised from football.
No child or young person should be left behind regardless of their ability, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, or religion.
Coach-educators should ensure all players feel welcome and receive equal attention when taking part in Football for Schools sessions. This requires educators to be flexible, responsive, and supportive when planning and delivering Football for Schools sessions to cater for the diverse needs of all learners.
Practices should be developed to support and encourage all learners to engage in Football for Schools addressing barriers such as: dress options; religious-cultural dispositions; parental discouragement; inadequate changing facilities; cost of kit; body image; and football’s image.
Gender equality is a priority area for UNESCO and achieving gender equality in football is a priority for FIFA. The Football for Schools programme aims for equal participation by boys and girls. Therefore, where possible coach-educators should strive for a 50/50 balance of participation of both boys and girls.
However, it is envisaged that mixed-sex sessions may not always be possible or appropriate. It is recommended that where possible coach-educators should facilitate mixed-sex Football for Schools sessions for the 4-7 and 8-11-years age groups. The 12-14-years age group can be delivered either as a mixed-sex or as parallel single-sex sessions. In certain situations, sessions can be split up so that certain components are delivered to a mixed-sex group where other components (e.g. certain topics or activities) are delivered to a single sex group.
Allowing boys and girls to play together contributes to the emancipation of the two genders, improves tolerance, and promotes mutual respect. Both girls and boys can benefit from and enjoy football and it is important to enable/encourage access for all. Several sessions in the programme aim to teach players about the importance of gender equality and help them question harmful gender norms.
Differentiated instruction seeks to modify learning activities to meet the needs of diverse groups of players and is different from adapted physical education which is focused on adapting physical activities for learners with disabilities.  Differentiated instruction considers the needs of all players who have differing abilities including children with disabilities. Two useful frameworks that can be used when considering how to include players with a disability into your Football for Schools sessions are the Inclusion Spectrum and the TREE Framework.
The inclusion spectrum highlights four approaches to the delivery of football sessions that enable players with different disabilities to take part.Considering the inclusion spectrum coach-educators can choose different approaches to delivering football sessions to ensure everyone is included in the activity in some way or another or can even use a mix of these. 
Open: all needs, and abilities are still considered but no modifications need to be made to the activity as all players can play together successfully.
Modified: everyone takes part with modifications to the activity to support all needs and abilities in the group to ensure that all of them get the same amount of time and attention in the activity.
Parallel: each do the activity at an appropriate level which considers their needs and is suitable to them.
Separate/Alternative: completely different activity away from the bulk of players taking part in the normal session. This is the contingency plan
Where possible coach-educators are encouraged to include players with disabilities in football sessions with other players either through an open or modified football approach.
A useful tool that coach-educators can use to help them modify football activity to be inclusive for all players including people with disabilities is the acronym “TREE” which stands for:
Teaching styleCommunication and teaching strategies/ideas that support players in successful learning
RulesSimplify or change rules and reintroduce them as the level increases
EquipmentThe size, shape, colour, texture and/or weight of the equipment may vary.
SurroundingsLength, flatness, zones and surface of the playing field, as well as seating/standing aids vary
The TREE framework is easily understood and easily remembered. It acts as a guide, helping you as a coach-educator to think about how you can make changes to your teaching or coaching style, rules, the play or practice environment, and the equipment to involve people of all abilities in a fully inclusive way.
It is important when adapting any elements of the TREE framework in a group situation to think about how your changes affect the integrity of the football activity for all members of the group.
It is also important to remember that the TREE framework is useful for modifying football activities for players of different ability levels and not just players who have a disability.  Making changes to your teaching style, rules and regulations, equipment and environment can help make an activity easier or harder as required and can assist coach-educators in ensuring activities meet the development level of the individual player.
The table below provides some examples of modifications that could be made when including players with disabilities in Football for Schools sessions for different categories of disability.
Last updated: Tuesday, 28 October 2025 at 12:19
Teaching style	Communication and teaching strategies/ideas that support players in successful learning
Rules	Simplify or change rules and reintroduce them as the level increases
Equipment	The size, shape, colour, texture and/or weight of the equipment may vary.
Surroundings	Length, flatness, zones and surface of the playing field, as well as seating/standing aids vary
Football for Schools

Coach - Educators

Safeguarding

FIFA launched a major new global education programme to strengthen and build safeguarding capacity across football

How to teach﻿

Inclusive football

How to teach
