Why it’s time for a centralised safeguarding regulator in UK Sport

Despite numerous independent reviews and extensive public comment, it would appear safeguarding in sport has certainly not got the ear of government in the way football finance has.

For context, on the 7 November 2023, the King’s Speech announced that “legislation will be brought forward to safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans.”1 It was a step which Tracey Crouch acknowledged in her forward to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance that was “triggered by the European Super League debacle.” The European Super League was originally announced in April 2021 and the Fan-Led Review was published on the 24 November 2021. Considering there were three prime ministers and three different Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport between April 2021 and November 2023, it was a remarkably rapid process to legislation.

This article is not a debate on the merits of a regulator for football, which has already garnered substantial coverage. It is, however, a consideration of one of those areas where the calls for government intervention - and some form of centralised process - have been made for a considerable period of time; where a substantial body of evidence has built up of the need for change and, more fundamentally, where the well-being and behaviours across all sports continue to be exposed.

This article looks at on safeguarding2 in sport, predominately across Olympic and Paralympic sport, at both the elite and grassroots level, but many of the points reach far wider.