UEFA award for child protection in sport

The 2014 UEFA Monaco Charity Award will support crucial work in child protection in sport as UEFA President Michel Platini presents a €1m cheque to Anne Tiivas, the director of the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) at the UK National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

The NSPCC's CPSU works to ensure children understand their rights in sport. The issues sport has to deal with range from serious cases of sexual abuse to day-to-day poor treatment of children that happens through a culture that does not listen to their voices and prioritise their interests.

Mr Platini said: "Every year the Monaco Award donates €1m to a deserving sporting organisation or charity in order to help support and advance their mission. UEFA believes all children, no matter what their social status or where they live, should have a chance to play football. The important work by the NSPCC guarantees the basic requirement for this: a safe environment to allow children to enjoy sport.

"The NSPCC has worked tirelessly to end cruelty to children and hopefully this donation will help their cause significantly. Congratulations; we are sure their work will continue to make a difference to the lives of many children."

The UEFA Monaco Charity Award will be used to increase the availability and awareness of the services the NSPCC's CPSU provides to children and parents. It will also disseminate the NSPCC's campaign with European and international sports organisations and advise on good practice and effective approaches to keeping children safe in sport.

Anne Tiivas said: "We are immensely pleased to receive this. The UEFA Monaco Charity Award will allow us to build on the work we have done with children, parents and everybody involved in football to create the best possible environment for our children."

Graeme Le Saux, inclusion advisory board member at the Football Association (FA), added: "Being able to play football in a safe environment is a fundamental right for a child. In football we all have a responsibility towards children, whether it be at grassroots level or all the way up into the elite game."

The NSPCC's CPSU works with 200 national sport governing bodies and county sports partnerships in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This has led to a change in culture with policies and procedures to ensure children are protected and their voices are heard in the organisation.

The FA has worked with the NSPCC for 15 years. The cooperation has resulted in a specific safeguarding course, approved by the NSPCC and CPSU and mandatory for people who work in football with the FA. Since 1999, 450,000 people have been trained through FA safeguarding children programmes.

For more information visit: www.nspcc.org.uk and www.thecpsu.org.uk.