As safeguarding awareness and capacity grows throughout the Oceania region, Samoa Football is leading the way in the Pacific with how they’re embedding safeguarding practices in all levels of football. With the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship currently underway in Apia, we explore how Social Responsibility Manager Pele Taei has driven the Member Association’s efforts to ensure the safest possible tournament. 

In Samoa safeguarding is a culture in the making. 

Before the domestic season began, every local club underwent safeguarding orientation to ensure they understood their role in creating safe environments for players. Samoa Football’s Social Responsibility Manager, Pele Taei, currently completing the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Football Diploma, has also kept the federation’s leadership closely involved in the process. 

Now, with the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship in full swing, this work is put into action. 

“With players under 18, we are extremely careful about everything,  for the girls, but also spectators, officials, and everyone involved,” says Taei.  

 “We brief security, liaison officers, drivers, staff,  everyone signs a code of conduct and knows how to report poor practice,” she explained. 

That includes ball kids, medical staff, and Red Cross volunteers. Safeguarding messages and QR codes for confidential reporting are on posters placed in team hotels, training venues, and changing rooms. 

As part of their Team Arrival Meetings, every side in the competition takes part in a safeguarding briefing. These sessions explain what safeguarding is, how to spot potential concerns, and where to seek help. 

“In previous tournaments, players didn’t know their safeguarding officer. This year, they do,” Taei says. 

At U-16 level, this is particularly important. Children and young women are known to face higher levels of risk, and many players here are experiencing international football, and even overseas travel, for the first time. 

Safeguarding for Taei goes beyond welfare alone. With dengue fever cases recently rising in Samoa, her team inspected all team accommodations to ensure prevention measures were in place. 

“We visited the hotels to check their preparations for the dengue outbreak. It’s something we take very seriously,” she explains. 

Whether working with accommodation providers, local clubs, or volunteers, Taei’s message is clear:

“We need everyone’s contribution to make safeguarding a priority. Together, we can keep football safe, not sorry.” 

Since 2024, OFC has provided a QR code reporting system on all competition accreditations to enable anyone involved in a competition to report safeguarding concerns if needed. Teams at all OFC competitions participate in safeguarding orientations, and safeguarding awareness messages are delivered by matchday commentators on broadcast.  

 Further measures will be introduced next year when all teams participating in OFC competitions will be required to have a safeguarding welfare officer that has completed the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Essentials Module.   

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. If you see something, say something. If you have a safeguarding concern, please email [email protected] 

 

Photo credit: Samoa Football