To ensure the safety and well-being of the children, JFA has introduced the “JFA Safeguarding Policy” on 18 November 2021. This policy serves as a guideline for everyone involved in football, including coaches, to protect the right of the children to enjoy football and sports in a safe and secure environment, while the policy also serves as a beacon of hope for the football family.
JFA has been carrying out various activities to expand the environment where everyone can enjoy sports safely, anytime, anywhere, under the principle of “Through football, we realise the full benefits that sports can bring to our lives the soundness of our bodies, the expansion of our minds, and the enrichment of our societies.”
In 2019, JFA announced “The Declaration – Ensure Safety of Football Family” in support of UNICEF's “Children's Rights in Sport Principles.” By clarifying disciplinary criteria, imposing harsher punishments, and promoting welfare-officers, JFA has been working to create a healthier football environment free from violence, verbal abuse, and harassment. However, unfortunately, children are still constantly being deprived of the enjoyment of sports and the opportunity for healthy physical and mental development.
The JFA Safeguarding Policy has been developed in order to embody “The Declaration - Ensure Safety of the Football Family” in the daily context of football, and JFA will be promoting the following initiatives to raise awareness among the football family. JFA is committed to listening to the voices of the children and engaging in activities to empower them for the next 100 years. In addition, JFA will not tolerate violence under any circumstances and will seek to raise awareness of the right of all football families to enjoy football in a safe and secure environment.

JFA Safeguarding Policy

Target

All football families/stakeholders in football

Basic principles

Protect the safety and security of the children
・Create environments that spread joy and encourage the growth of the children
・Provide choices for the children
・Listen to children's voices and engage in conversations with them
・Protect the safety and security of the children
・Address health and environmental risks
Zero tolerance - We will not tolerate
・Eliminate all physical and verbal abuse
・Eliminate all forms of discrimination
・Eliminate all forms of harassment
・Eliminate all forms of slander
・Issues between children involved
・Notice the issues off the pitch
・End the vicious cycle
In order to do so
・Work to ensure that the right people are involved with the children
・Protect the safety and security of the adults who deal with children in good faith
・Address the issues that arise, but also with an emphasis on prevention and education
・Keep the workplace open and transparent. Create a culture in which people are encouraged to notice and communicate the risks

Initiatives

Extend the network of welfare-officers not only to the prefectural football associations, leagues, and federations, but also to clubs
Procedure charts for handling specific cases
Clarification of the club's philosophy, values, and policies
Conduct respect workshops at clubs
Review and proposal of the criteria for a charter standard club
Organise safeguarding workshops for coaches
Promote league-wide safeguarding workshops at the beginning of the season

Comment of JFA President TASHIMA Kohzo

The value of sport lies in its power to foster rich human and social skills, such as cooperativeness, consideration for others, willingness to take on challenges, and the mental strength to face failure, all while having fun, and this value must never be threatened. By sharing the JFA Safeguarding Policy with a wider audience, we hope to work with the football family to create a sustainable environment where everyone can truly enjoy sports throughout their lives.