On the occasion of International Children’s Day, marked on 1 June, the Lithuanian version of UEFA’s child safeguarding courses, prepared by the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), have been launched.
UEFA, in collaboration with Terre des hommes, implements a child safeguarding in football programme, which aims to help UEFA member associations and other stakeholders to strengthen knowledge and skills in the field of child safeguarding.
Among others, the programme provides a child safeguarding in football toolkit and five online learning courses. These courses are intended for anyone working with children in football or interested in this field. After familiarization with the educational content and passing the test at the end of each course, a certificate is issued to learners.
In 2021, the LFF approved its child safeguarding and well-being strategy to ensure safe and fun participation in sports activities for the youngest members of the football community.
It should be noted that the children’s, youth and girls’ championships organized by LFF members for the 2022-2023 season attracted over 7,300 registered players, and more than 40 thousand children participated in grassroots events. The ranks of children playing football are growing every year, so the LFF encourages all football schools to have qualified skills in safeguarding.
“Ensuring the well-being of our youngest participants, children who play football, is a significant task, therefore we are glad to provide educational courses translated into Lithuanian to the Lithuanian football community. They are relevant for all groups involved: coaches, personnel, child protection coordinators, parents and guardians of football education institutions. We hope that football academies and schools will spread this message widely and encourage members of their community to attend the courses,” said LFF president Edgaras Stankevičius.
The following courses are available in the Lithuanian language:
- Awareness raising on child safeguarding in football.
- Child safeguarding for coaches.
- Child safeguarding for staff.
- Child safeguarding for child safeguarding focal points.
The courses are free and available anytime on any device. To take any course, it is required to create an account on uefa-safeguarding.eu.