FIFA: Zoppis among the graduates at the second Safeguarding Summit

The second FIFA Safeguarding Summit, which brought together around 170 participants – including experts from UNICEF, UNESCO and the Council of Europe – focused on the need to strengthen the commitment to care for those who could potentially be put at risk through football activities. The closing event of the year-and-a-half-long programme was held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland. On this occasion, the 123 newly graduated Guardians Safeguarding specialists were also celebrated – among them Andrea Zoppis representing the San Marino Football Federation, one of more than 100 associations taking part.

The course lasted eighteen months, combining online modules and in‑person activities: the in‑person session for participants on the English‑language course, which the FSGC joined, was held in May 2025 at St. George’s Park – hosted, therefore, by The Football Association. After the diploma award ceremony, there was room for a series of presentations and contributions that explored every aspect of Safeguarding in various areas: from sexual abuse to online abuse, from physical violence to neglect, as well as the trafficking of footballers. There were also testimonies from several survivors – the term used for those who have suffered abuse – who had the courage to share their experiences and explain how they coped in the period following the trauma.

These are issues that have long been taken very seriously by the San Marino Football Federation, which has long recognised their central importance in its day‑to‑day work: for this reason too, the unprecedented achievement of such a prestigious international certification by one of its staff members can only be greeted with great satisfaction. It is, after all, another significant step in the ongoing work to deepen and develop Safeguarding within the FSGC which, in recent months – among other initiatives – has set up an ad hoc internal Commission, added to its website a section for anonymous reports and introduced a dedicated training programme for coaches and stewards.