Athletic Club, member of the International Safeguards for Children in Sport

Athletic Club recently became a member of the International Safeguards for Children in Sport. The initiative, which is headed by UNICEF, looks to protect children in the world of sport. In April 2019, Athletic launched a pioneering programme that eventually led to the current Aterpe Project, the first of its kind among LaLiga clubs. Now the club will participate in one of the most important global initiatives in this sphere, joining the likes of UNICEF, UK Sport, Swiss Academy for Development, Keeping Children Safe, Child Protection in Sport Unit, Commonwealth Secretariat, WomenWin, Beyond Sport and Caribbean Sport and Development Agency.

Belonging to this network offers Athletic Club the opportunity to improve upon its existing work, while at the same time, it serves as a recognition of what the club is currently doing in this respect. In order to join this initiative, the Aterpe Project developed the following points in its programme.

• Protection Policy
• Procedure to respond adequately to complaints or suspicions
• Service and advice
• Risk reduction
• Rules of behaviour
• Training and communication
• Revision and evaluation

One of the first tasks of this working group was to create a set of standards for the protection of children in sport that show what good practice is when it comes to the treatment of children practising sport. Principles that:

• Help to create a good environment for the development of children that participate in sport.
• Ensure those who work directly with children have access to the appropriate tools.
• Promote good practice.
• Minimise the risks that can occur in the practise of sports with children
• Create a culture of child protection in sport.