Town backing Play Safe Weekend 2024

English football unites this weekend to promote Play Safe – the national campaign to focus attention of the vital importance of safeguarding across our game.

Ipswich Town and Ipswich Town Foundation is right behind Play Safe, which is endorsed by the NSPCC and supported across every level of English football, including the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League, Barclays Women’s Championship, men’s and women’s National Leagues and across the grassroots game.

“As Safeguarding Manager at the Foundation, my role is to continually promote the importance of safeguarding, ensure staff are up to date with their training and to be the first point of contact for any concerns that are raised,” Sara Gillespie has said.

“Ipswich Town Foundation reaches over 9,000 young people and vulnerable adults across 29 programmes on a weekly basis, so it is vital that our staff are empowered to recognise, respond to and report any concerns, no matter how small they may seem.”

As Sue Ravenlaw, The FA Head of Safeguarding says: “The central push behind this year’s Play Safe weekend is to create awareness among individuals of the vital safeguarding role they can play in football. It really is about Everyone Everywhere, Every Time.

Play Safe weekend is a fantastic way of raising the awareness of safeguarding and putting this at the forefront of people’s minds, not just for this weekend, but throughout the season. This year, we’re asking everyone to know their role in safeguarding and we look forward to seeing clubs at every level of the game showing their support across the weekend, to make sure football is safe, fun, and enjoyable for all.”

Crucially, Play Safe also has the full support of The FA’s Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group: “It’s essential that everyone in football – no matter if they’re actively involved, or on the sidelines – understands that they have an ongoing safeguarding role to play. Obviously Play Safe is 24/7 and 365, as is reflected in the Play Safe messaging of ‘Everyone, Everywhere and Every time’, but this weekend helps with raising awareness of how everyone can help to create safe and positive football spaces, what inappropriate behaviours look, sound, and feel like and importantly how to report concerns.”

If you have a safeguarding concern, or would like some advice, the person to contact at Ipswich Town Foundation is Safeguarding Manager Sara Gillespie, who can be contacted via email at sara.gillespie@itfc.co.uk or by phone at 0173662744.

For more information on the campaign, visit the England Football website here.