FA Cup winner and campaigner Paul Stewart talks safeguarding at Kent FA
Former FA Cup winner and England international Paul Stewart recently spent a day with Kent FA and groups from grassroots football across the county to share his hard-hitting story of being abused as a young footballer and learn about the key role safeguarding plays in Kent football.
Effective safeguarding is vital in providing a trusted and enjoyable grassroots football environment.
Paul Stewart knows more than most just how important that sentiment is, having suffered from sexual abuse himself in youth football before making it his mission to protect others.
Through his organisation Safeguarding Fundamentals, he uses his personal story to deliver educational talks and workshops to football clubs, academies, leagues and other organisations, providing a unique insight into the importance of safeguarding from a survivor’s perspective.
From the outside, Paul lived every aspiring footballer’s dream - competing in the top flight for the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, while earning three England caps and winning the 1991 FA Cup with Spurs.
But throughout his successful career on the pitch, he was hiding an horrific secret.
In 2016, he waived his right to anonymity as a sexual offences victim to speak out about the abuse he was subjected to by a youth coach – his story featuring widely in the press at the time.
“I never really had any intentions of telling my story, in fact I thought I'd take it to my grave,” Paul recalls.
“But I was reading a news article one afternoon about a footballer who was a few years younger than me, but around the same era, recounting the story of his abuse in a national newspaper.
“When I read it, it felt like reading my own story and I thought ‘I need to support this lad’ because he’d been so brave and I thought maybe his story wouldn’t go any further if nobody supported him.”
Paul made the decision to tell his close family the secret he had carried with him since childhood and they discussed his intentions to share his story publicly, then he contacted the journalist behind the article he had read - a decision that changed everything.
“To say it changed my life would be probably an understatement.
“When it broke in the first newspaper, I was pulled from pillar to post by every TV channel, I was on This Morning, Sky, Channel 5, and, at that moment, I was on an emotional roller coaster because I had no idea where this was going to take me.
“But what I did know was that my coming forward was going to be for a reason.
“I didn't want people to feel sorry for me, I didn't want pity.
“I wanted my story to be something that could bring about change.”
Following the media coverage, Paul was invited to give talks about his experiences to various groups within elite football, but he felt he could make more of an impact if he learnt about safeguarding and delivered his message in a purposeful way.
“I didn’t know anything about safeguarding because, when I was young, there was no such thing as safeguarding.
“So I went away and educated myself by doing safeguarding courses and reading up on it, so I had knowledge I could pass on to the audience.”
That eventually led to the launch of Safeguarding Fundamentals, which has taken Paul to football clubs and organisations across the UK and overseas, including Poland, Latvia, Italy and Spain.
As well as delivering talks and workshops, he works with organisations to help identify and tackle patterns that unfold, which could relate to anything from bullying, sexual abuse, damaging dressing room banter or online abuse, and with young players to equip them with the tools needed to safely navigate their journeys.
Paul feels there have been “giant strides” made in safeguarding since his days as a young player and, with the football industry and safeguarding landscape constantly changing, he frequently his sessions to keep them relevant to today’s players.
“Back then there was no one to talk to and you had to grow up and become a man quickly when you joined a football club.
“Now, we have support networks and proper infrastructure around the children at elite clubs with the player care and safeguarding teams, who are looking after their mental health and well-being.”
At grassroots level, that role is usually covered by volunteer welfare officers at clubs and leagues and Paul is full of praise for their dedication to what can be a tough task.
“They’re often doing the role around their jobs, looking after hundreds of children, and it’s not easy, so I really commend them for the work they're doing.
“They're doing it for the right reason - so that those children can have a really good experience playing football and pursuing their dreams.”
To mark the launch of Safeguarding Fundamentals becoming Kent FA’s Strategic Safeguarding Partner, Paul recently spent a day in Kent during which visited Kent FA’s headquarters to discuss the safeguarding team’s work, met the wider workforce and spoke about his story and Safeguarding Fundamentals.
He then went to Maidstone United, where he delivered a talk to around 70 academy footballers, and finished with an evening session for club and league volunteers, coaches and referees from across the county.
“Kent FA does some fabulous work and I wanted to support them in that and make them aware that they are doing great jobs in ensuring football is a safe space – safe from harm and free from abuse.
“The day was centred around the children playing in the Kent leagues and how we can make that even safer for them.
“I really enjoyed the day and want to say a huge thank you to Kent FA for having me and everyone I met.”
Recounting his tale takes an emotional toll on Paul, but he feels his hard-hitting words resonate powerfully with his audiences.
“You can do all the online safeguarding courses and read about it in books but I'm of the opinion that until someone stands in front of you telling you the effects abuse has had on their life, it won’t feel real or have the same impact.
“Sometimes it is emotional because I talk about my family as, whilst I was the victim, the impact is felt beyond me.
“I always say that whilst the abuse was horrendous, the worst thing is the impact it’s had on my adult life and my loved ones, because the effects of the abuse manifest themselves in your behaviour.
“My mission now is to do everything I can to make sure nobody has to suffer as I've done, and I talk about drugs and drink and everything I went through to try to cope with what happened to me as a child.”
Safeguarding Fundamentals provides a certification to all organisations that sign up to its Quality Mark and make a commitment to good practice in safeguarding by adopting the tools and knowledge provided – and this can be achieved by any company, school, charity or individual working with children, such as Guide and Scout groups, art clubs and dance groups.
The Quality Mark shows parents an organisation is proactively ensuring they are providing a safe environment and acts as a deterrent to anyone who may cause harm, such as bullying or shouting from the sidelines, from becoming involved.
“They see the Quality Mark and realise they won’t be able to get away with it.
“I want Safeguarding Fundamentals to be a leading light so that the clubs, leagues and organisations aspire to achieve our Quality Mark and show a real commitment to protect children.”
In Paul’s home, there are no prominent trophy cabinets containing his FA Cup winners’ medal, England caps, golden boot for scoring 30 times for Manchester City in a single season or the two First Division winners’ medals he gained for winning the second-tier title with Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
“I don’t have them on show in my house because all they represent to me are pain and suffering and I paid too high a price to achieve that.”
Instead, it is his achievements in safeguarding, including the doctorate he was awarded by Salford University, his Contribution to Football League Award and his book, Damaged, about the abuse he suffered with inserts from his family, that he celebrates.
“Those things mean more to me than any of the medals, caps or trophies.”
Paul is delighted to see Kent FA and other football organisations putting safeguarding at the heart of everything they do.
“I see the passion from the people delivering safeguarding, which isn’t a nine-to-five role as people are dedicating their time to it no matter what time of day, because you never know when a concern will come in.
“Children are not going to wait until nine o’clock the next morning because, if they’ve found that strength to come forward, they want to disclose what they have to say there and then.
“If that moment passes, they might never come forward and then their life might end up like mine did where they’re going through trials and tribulations throughout their adult life.
“So that's why I'm so impressed with the work that the individuals do when they're working in the safeguarding field.”
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