2026 Global Safeguarding in Sport Survey
August 15, 2026|Showcase|Safeguarding
Despite growing recognition of safeguarding across international sport, limited comparable global evidence existed on how safeguarding systems are implemented in practice across different organisations and governance levels.IGNITX, in partnership with Safe Sport International and Re.Events, developed the 2026 Global Safeguarding in Sport Survey to map safeguarding maturity across the international sport ecosystem, identifying implementation gaps, operational barriers and future development needs.
What we did
- IGNITX led the initiative, from the research framework and questionnaire development to ethical oversight, analysis and interpretation of the findings.
- Tailored questionnaires were developed to reflect the different realities of International Federations, National Olympic Committees/National Sports Organisations and National Federations while maintaining a consistent global comparative framework.
- The research examined safeguarding maturity and the operational pathway from governance and policies through reporting, investigation and adjudication, alongside education, staffing, resources and future support needs.
- The findings were transformed into a suite of publicly available resources designed to support evidence-based safeguarding development across sport organisations globally.
Results
- 304 sport organisations participated in the survey, representing 83 countries across all five continents.
- A comprehensive suite of safeguarding research resources was produced and made publicly available free of charge, including: Full Survey Report, Analytical Summary Report, Global Insight Cards, NOC Insight Cards, IF Insight Cards and NF Insight Cards.
- Generated knowledge-sharing opportunities through the Safe Sport International Global Conference 2026 in South Africa, the Global Safeguarding Webinar by United Through Sport (UTS), the 2026 International Sports Affairs Training Course (ISATC) by the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, and the III Fórum Esporte Seguro by the Olympic Committee of Brazil.
- Achieved further international dissemination through the Safe Sport International website and the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport website and newsletter.
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