SAFER – Support & Awareness for Female fans in European football through Research, prevention, and remedy

Football Supporters Europe is delighted to share the handbook from its SAFER (Support & Awareness for Female fans in European football through Research, prevention, and remedy) project.

Download the SAFER handbook here.

About the project

SAFER, a Football Supporters Europe project supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, sees supporters and a cross section of experts and football stakeholders working together to tackle gender-based violence and discrimination in the game by establishing prevention and remedy mechanisms for football fans and other match attendees. 

Consultation with affected groups, survivors and affected persons of gender-based violence, match organisers, and experts in prevention and remedy mechanisms enables the project’s unique consortium to collate innovative and evidence-based responses to gender-based violence in and around stadia before outlining a plan to move towards prevention.   

The project is supported by UEFA, the Sport & Rights Alliance, and the Centre for Sport & Human Rights.

The project will achieve its aims through: 

• Research into the extent of gender-based violence within football stadia and match-related activities; 
• Identification and promotion of good practice and development of recommendations in the prevention of gender-based violence; and
• Production of a remedy policy and associated guidelines to support the survivors of gender-based violence.  

Ultimately, the project has been designed to create the components to ensure football is safe and welcoming to all, both on the pitch and in the stands.

An excerpt from the SAFER handbook

“In responding to these challenges, we have drawn inspiration from the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA), a coalition that has transformed the global conversation about human rights in sport. By centring the experience of athletes, the SRA has demonstrated that safeguarding and remedy are not optional add-ons – they are fundamental responsibilities for any organisation and any competition organisers.

“Football Supporters Europe has adopted this logic for the supporter community. Fans, like athletes, are stakeholders in sport – and must be treated as such. Just as the SRA’s work has helped to establish prevention and remedy mechanisms for athletes, so too must we ensure that supporters have access to safe, trusted
systems of protection and accountability.

The SAFER project embodies this belief. Through research, fieldwork, and cooperation between fans, clubs, federations, and expert organisations, we are building an evidence-based framework that recognises the complexity of fan experience and addresses it with compassion and expertise.”

Learn more

Visit the SAFER project website to download the SAFER handbook and learn more about the project outcomes and good practice recommendations.