The SFA Wellbeing and Protection Unit was set up in response to the report on historical abuse with Scottish Football. It works at all levels of Scottish football to ensure that children and young people can enjoy participation in the sport in a safe, welcoming, and nurturing environment.

Last year it commissioned an important piece of research, conducted by the Children’s Parliament, into the attitudes of young people to their participation in football, both in terms of physical fitness and mental wellbeing. Whilst the results confirm many of the positive benefits of playing football, they also revealed some of the challenges such as negative behaviour from adults.

Former EIS General Secretary, Larry Flanagan, chairs the Independent Board which oversees the work of the Wellbeing unit. Larry commented, “Teachers understand the critical importance of positive student wellbeing as a prerequisite to successful learning so I think they will find the contents of the report both interesting and illustrative.”

Two versions of the report Young Players have their say have been produced and are available on the SFA Website, together with a short video which summarises the key findings:

Full Report: www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/11198/scottish-fa-young-players-share-their-views-report-2023.pdf

Summary Report: www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/11199/summary-report-scottish-fa-young-players-share-their-views-2023.pdf

Video Summary: www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/11215/final-011223-sfa-report-summary.mp4