StepChange 2026: From Paper to Pitch, taking place online from 16-20 November 2026, will examine how safeguarding in football can be brought into everyday practice and create safer environments for children and young people participating in academy systems.
Led by the Project StepChange team at Loughborough University and coinciding with International Children’s Day, the five-day event will feature over 40 speakers from national and international football organisations, including FIFA and The FA, who will share their expertise.
The free event series will explore how, whilst elite player pathways can provide life-changing opportunities for young athletes, they can also foster environments characterised by pressure, uncertainty, power imbalances and safeguarding risks.
Drawing on lived experience, professional expertise, and research the event will discuss practical approaches to recognising and preventing safeguarding concerns within elite football academies.
The programme is linked to the team’s ongoing research examining player safety and welfare in football academies, led by Professor Daniel Rhind, Professor of Sport Psychology, at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences.
Throughout the week, sessions will focus on themes including player care, prevention, responding to safeguarding concerns, support provided by Member Associations, and safeguarding in women’s and girls’ football.
A dedicated survivor panel will provide a space for participants to listen to lived experiences and reflect on what these perspectives can reveal about the realities of safeguarding in elite sport. Survivor contributions will help inform wider conversations about how football organisations can create safer environments for all participants.
Registration for StepChange 2026: From Paper to Pitch is free and open to anyone with an interest in safeguarding, player welfare and elite sport.
Further information and registration details are available via the StepChange event website.