FC Barcelona presents a unique Child Protection System

FC Barcelona presents a unique Child Protection System

This innovative system prevents any type of violence against the 200,000 children and young people in La Masia, the Barça Academies, amateur sports and any of the Foundation’s programmes.

FC Barcelona has presented its Club and Foundation Child Protection System, the first of its kind in Spain, which directly or indirectly covers almost 200,000 children and young people from the different areas in which the Club (La Masia, Barça Academy, amateur sports) and the Foundation operate. This system includes the new protection policy, the protocol for action and other actions for the prevention, monitoring and management of any type of violence: physical and verbal violence, sexual abuse, neglect and bullying, with the aim of promoting a space of zero tolerance, safe spaces and spaces for protection.

The president of FC Barcelona and its Foundation, Joan Laporta, accompanied by the Secretary-General for Sports and Physical Activity of the Government of Catalonia, Anna Caula, presented this child protection system last Thursday at an event held at Auditori 1899, which was also attended by the Director-General of the FC Barcelona Foundation, Dr Marta Segú, the Chief Compliance Officer of the Club, Sergi Atienza, the psychologist and consultant at the children’s consultancy firm Espirales, Francisco Javier Romeo; and the international expert in children’s rights and former head of Children’s Rights and Sports Values at the Council of Europe, Elda Moreno. 

The objective of the system is to guarantee the comprehensive well-being of all these children and teenagers who are part of the Club and the Foundation. To achieve this, efforts are made to ensure that all safe and protective spaces and environments are based on a focus on children’s rights and the best interests of each child and teenager.

It is worth mentioning that the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’ijd, participated in the event through a video in which she congratulated the Club for this initiative and encouraged other institutions and sports clubs to implement similar systems.