The Kent County Football Association (Kent FA) is proud to announce a new strategic partnership with Safeguarding Fundamentals (SGF), a leader in safeguarding services, to enhance safeguarding standards for the Kent football community.

This innovative collaboration aims to spearhead safeguarding practices making the county a no-go area for child abuse or exploitation. 

Safeguarding Fundamentals will play a pivotal role in supporting the County FA’s efforts to enhance safeguarding standards within Kent clubs and leagues through education, support and a new safeguarding standards quality mark. With a shared vision of building safer, stronger communities through football, this partnership will bring expertise, education and support to clubs, leagues and facility providers.

“We are thrilled to welcome Safeguarding Fundamentals as our Strategic Safeguarding Partner,” said Lucy Kidd, Head of Safeguarding and Welfare at Kent FA.

“Their commitment to improving safeguarding standards within the grassroots game and empowering communities aligns perfectly with our mission to provide a safe and inclusive game for everyone. Together, we will work to ensure that affiliated football across Kent is working within a robust safeguarding framework, and we will continue to spread the message that by making football safer, everybody wins.”

The partnership will focus on key areas, including:

• Raising safeguarding awareness
• Practical advice and guidance
• Creating a network of support across Kent football

Antonia Noble, Safeguarding Specialist at Safeguarding Fundamentals, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “Our aim is to create enhanced safeguarding standards within football, working with clubs and leagues to adhere to the Safeguarding Fundamentals Quality Mark. This mark ensures good practices within their football settings, to prevent any child from going through abuse or exploitation as my colleague, Paul Stewart, did when he was younger.

“So many clubs and organisations want to play their part in keeping children safe but are overwhelmed and nervous by over-complicated language and processes. The SGF Quality Mark is a cohesive framework that allows all clubs and leagues to show their commitment to keeping children safe, deter those seeking to abuse and reassure parents that their football community is doing everything possible to keep children safe. This partnership with Kent FA is a fantastic opportunity to set the standards across the game for now and future years.” 

The partnership will officially launch this evening, Tuesday, 11 February 2025, with a safeguarding event at Kent FA headquarters where SGF and Kent FA will outline their joint vision, provide education and guidance and showcase plans for upcoming projects.