CRC Sport Sustainability and Continuity Plan

Ref. Ares(2025)11248464 - 16/12/2025

CRC Sport Sustainability and Continuity Plan Good Practices in Children’s Safeguarding

Summary Chapter 1 – Executive Summary ................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2 – Context and Rationale ............................................................................... 6 Chapter 3 – Project Outputs and Continuity Strategies .................................................. 9 Chapter 4 – Sustainability Pillars ................................................................................ 12 Chapter 5 – Governance and Partnership Model .......................................................... 15 Chapter 6 – Policy Integration and Alignment with European Frameworks .................... 19 Chapter 7 – Capacity Building and Training Legacy ...................................................... 23 Chapter 8 – Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation ...................................... 26 Chapter 9 – Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment ........................................ 29 Chapter 10 – Risk Management and Adaptive Strategies .............................................. 32 Chapter 11 – Conclusions and Future Outlook ............................................................ 35

Chapter 1 – Executive Summary The CRC Sport project marks a milestone in the European effort to place children’s rights at the heart of the sports system. It embodies the conviction that sport, when guided by ethical responsibility, can become one of the most powerful social environments for growth, education and citizenship. Funded by the European Union, CRC Sport has developed a coherent framework to help sport organisations, coaches, and institutions integrate a child-rights-based perspective into all dimensions of sporting life. Its legacy extends far beyond the project's duration, proposing a structural transformation of how sport is governed, taught, and experienced across Europe. From its inception, CRC Sport recognised that safeguarding children in sport requires more than the creation of guidelines or isolated interventions. It requires a cultural shift. The project was designed to change the way adults conceive of their roles within sport organisations, shifting from a technical or performance-oriented focus to one that prioritises the dignity, participation, and well-being of children at the centre. In this sense, CRC Sport contributes to a paradigm change, aligning with the European Child Rights Strategy and the EU Work Plan for Sport, while also supporting the broader objectives of the European Child Guarantee and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainability Plan builds on this foundation. It provides a forward-looking strategy to ensure that CRC Sport’s outcomes will endure, expand and adapt in the years following the end of EU funding. It is not a summary of achievements, but rather a roadmap for continuity — a living document designed to guide policymakers, sports organisations, and civil society organisations in maintaining and scaling up the project’s results. Sustainability, in this context, is understood as a dynamic and multidimensional process that involves institutional commitment, financial and policy integration, and empowering individuals and communities to become active agents of change. CRC Sport delivered a set of interrelated outputs that together form a comprehensive ecosystem for safeguarding in sport (all the outputs are available at https://crcsport.isca.org). The European Desk Research and Good Practices Analysis provided a strong evidence base by mapping existing frameworks, identifying good practices, and generating a shared understanding of what child protection means within diverse sporting contexts. The Guidelines for a Child-Rights-Based Approach translated this evidence into a practical and ethical framework, offering clear directions for sport organisations on how to align their structures and activities with children’s rights principles. The National Round Tables and Seminars served as participatory platforms where stakeholders from different sectors — including sport federations, public authorities, educators, and child protection experts — could discuss challenges, harmonise approaches, and commit to collective action. The Training Programme Handbook created a pedagogical pathway for building the capacity of coaches and organisational leaders, while the Child Safeguarding Policies Toolkit provided tangible instruments for the design, implementation and monitoring of safeguarding policies at the institutional level. These outputs are not isolated deliverables. Together, they constitute an integrated system that connects research, policy, education and practice. The Sustainability Plan ensures that this system

will continue to operate as a coherent structure that supports and informs decision-making long after the project's official conclusion. In doing so, it addresses one of the main challenges faced by European cooperation projects: the gap between project-based innovation and long-term structural change. The sustainability of CRC Sport relies on several interdependent dimensions. First, it relies on institutional sustainability, achieved by embedding the project’s tools and frameworks within the operational practices of sport organisations, federations and local authorities. This ensures that safeguarding becomes a structural, rather than temporary, component of governance. Second, it requires social sustainability, which involves fostering a culture of awareness, inclusion and shared responsibility among coaches, families, athletes and children themselves. Third, economic sustainability is ensured through the mobilisation of complementary resources, partnerships and funding mechanisms. The project’s outcomes are designed to be cost-effective, replicable and adaptable to various organisational sizes and contexts. Fourth, digital sustainability is guaranteed by maintaining open access to CRC Sport’s digital resources, databases and toolkits, ensuring that knowledge remains available and updated. Finally, the Plan acknowledges ethical and environmental sustainability, ensuring that all project-related practices adhere to the principles of fairness, equality and environmental respect that underpin the EU Green Deal. The governance of sustainability requires shared leadership. The CRC Sport consortium will evolve into a European network dedicated to continuing and expanding safeguarding efforts. Each partner will maintain a specific role according to its expertise: research institutions will ensure the ongoing collection and analysis of data; sport federations will integrate the guidelines into their operational standards; and civil society organisations will continue advocacy and community-based initiatives. This multi-level governance model reflects the project’s founding principle: safeguarding is not the task of one actor alone, but a collective responsibility distributed across institutions, communities and individuals. Through such a collaborative mechanism, the CRC Sport legacy will remain dynamic, responsive and inclusive. The Plan also places strong emphasis on policy integration. The outcomes of CRC Sport directly contribute to key EU strategies and frameworks. They operationalise the principles of the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, particularly in relation to participation, protection and non-discrimination. They respond to the EU Work Plan for Sport’s objective of promoting integrity, good governance and safe sport. Moreover, they contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals — notably Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). By aligning with these international frameworks, the Sustainability Plan ensures that CRC Sport remains relevant and strategically positioned within both European and global agendas. Continuity will also be achieved through dissemination and exploitation strategies that transcend traditional project communication. CRC Sport’s visibility will be sustained through a long-term communication plan that integrates digital outreach, academic dissemination, policy advocacy and stakeholder engagement. The CRC Sport website will evolve into a permanent online hub hosting resources, publications and training materials, ensuring that the knowledge generated remains accessible to all interested users. Furthermore, the project’s results will continue to be showcased

through conferences, policy dialogues and collaborations with European networks such as ISCA and other sport federations. These actions will guarantee that CRC Sport’s identity remains visible and that its principles are embedded in the wider European discourse on safeguarding. Evaluation is another cornerstone of sustainability. The Plan establishes a monitoring framework to assess the adoption and impact of CRC Sport results over time. This includes tracking the number of organisations implementing the guidelines, the number of trained professionals, and the degree of policy uptake at national and local levels. Annual reviews will allow for adaptive management, enabling the consortium to refine its strategies in response to emerging needs and challenges. The Plan also promotes transparency and accountability, encouraging partners to share progress reports and feedback to sustain collective learning. Ultimately, the Sustainability Plan reaffirms CRC Sport’s commitment to transforming sport into a safe, inclusive and empowering space for every child. It recognises that sustainability is not merely about continuity of activities, but about the endurance of values and systems that protect human dignity. Through its evidence-based approach, its policy relevance and its participatory ethos, CRC Sport provides a blueprint for how European cooperation can generate tangible, long-term impact. As the project transitions from implementation to legacy, CRC Sport will continue to act as both a reference model and a movement — inspiring institutions, communities and individuals to take part in a shared mission: ensuring that every child, in every sport, can learn, play and thrive in safety and respect.

Chapter 2 – Context and Rationale The CRC Sport project was conceived within a rapidly evolving European and global context, in which sport has come to be recognised not only as a field of physical activity or competition but as a strategic domain for education, inclusion and the protection of human rights. In recent years, the European Union has strengthened its commitment to safeguarding, equality and participation in sport, framing these dimensions as essential to sustainable development and social cohesion. The CRC Sport initiative is both a response to and an instrument of this new policy environment, offering an innovative and practical framework to ensure that children’s rights are not merely acknowledged in theory but effectively implemented within the everyday practices of sport organisations. The European policy landscape provides the foundation for this transformation. The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2021–2024) has placed unprecedented emphasis on the necessity of protecting and empowering children in all areas of life, including recreation, education and sport. It articulates a vision of Europe in which every child can grow up free from violence, discrimination and neglect, with their voices heard and their dignity respected. The European Child Guarantee complements this approach by promoting equitable access to basic services and opportunities, while the EU Work Plan for Sport 2021–2024 identifies safeguarding and integrity in sport as central priorities. These frameworks together create a normative environment in which projects such as CRC Sport can thrive and contribute meaningfully to systemic change. At the same time, the context in which European sport operates has become increasingly complex. Sport organisations face growing expectations from society, not only in terms of athletic performance but also in relation to ethical governance, inclusion and accountability. The revelations of abuse, neglect or misconduct in sport across several countries have highlighted the urgent need for a cultural and institutional shift. Safeguarding children is no longer perceived as an optional policy choice but as a legal and moral imperative. Within this environment, CRC Sport emerged as a proactive initiative, seeking to strengthen the capacity of sport organisations to act responsibly, prevent harm and foster environments that allow children to flourish. The rationale for CRC Sport is rooted in the recognition that safeguarding cannot be achieved through isolated measures. It requires a comprehensive approach that connects knowledge, governance, training and practice. Many sports organisations across Europe, particularly at the grassroots level, lack the structures, tools and expertise necessary to implement a coherent child-rights-based approach. The CRC Sport consortium identified this gap and responded by developing a transnational, interdisciplinary and participatory model that combines research, policy guidance, capacity-building and advocacy. This model is built on the understanding that effective safeguarding depends not only on institutional procedures but also on cultural transformation—a shift in values, mindsets, and professional ethics. In conceptual terms, CRC Sport aligns with a broader European understanding of sport as a vehicle for social inclusion and citizenship. The Council of Europe’s Recommendation on the Protection

of Children in Sport and the Kazán Action Plan of UNESCO both underline the importance of integrating human rights principles into sport governance. The project contributes directly to this agenda by translating high-level commitments into actionable resources for practitioners. It moves beyond rhetoric to provide concrete pathways for change at organisational and community levels, addressing the structural and behavioural dimensions that sustain unsafe or exclusionary practices. The rationale of CRC Sport also addresses the need for capacity building. While many organisations express a willingness to protect children, they often lack the competencies and institutional frameworks to operationalise this intention. The CRC Sport Training Programme Handbook and Guidelines for a Child-Rights-Based Approach therefore serve as both pedagogical and managerial instruments. They empower coaches, educators and administrators to make informed decisions, adopt preventive measures, and create safe learning and playing environments. The Plan recognises that lasting change depends on the empowerment of individuals who act as agents of transformation within their organisations. Equally significant is the transnational nature of CRC Sport. The project brings together a diverse consortium of partners from different countries, sectors and disciplinary backgrounds. This diversity enriches the project’s perspective, allowing it to address safeguarding as a multidimensional issue that intersects with culture, law, education and governance. The cross-border collaboration enables mutual learning and adaptation, ensuring that the lessons drawn from one context can be transferred and contextualised in another. This cooperative spirit is essential to sustainability, as it lays the groundwork for an ongoing European network dedicated to children’s rights in sport. The socio-cultural rationale of CRC Sport is grounded in the understanding that sport is both a mirror and a motor of society. It reflects social norms and values but also shapes them. In many European countries, sport is one of the most pervasive social institutions, engaging millions of children, families and volunteers. Its potential to foster positive socialisation, discipline, empathy and resilience is enormous. Yet, without adequate safeguarding mechanisms, this same potential can be compromised. CRC Sport recognises this dual nature and works to ensure that the sporting environment remains a space of growth and empowerment, free from harm and discrimination. Another key dimension of the project’s rationale lies in its evidence-based approach. From the outset, CRC Sport invested in comprehensive desk research to map existing policies, standards and good practices at European and national levels. This research revealed both achievements and gaps: while numerous initiatives had addressed child protection in sport, few had developed a coherent, rights-based framework applicable across diverse contexts. The CRC Sport research component thus provided the empirical foundation for all subsequent activities, ensuring that interventions were grounded in data, analysis and practical understanding rather than assumptions. This scientific underpinning also enhances the project’s credibility and facilitates its integration into European policy discussions. In parallel, the CRC Sport rationale recognises the importance of participation as both a principle and a method. Children’s voices are not peripheral to the safeguarding agenda; they are central to it. The project acknowledges that effective safeguarding requires listening to children, valuing their experiences, and including them in the development of policies and practices that affect them. This participatory ethos is embedded throughout CRC Sport, from the design of training modules to the

structure of national seminars and the creation of feedback tools. By institutionalising participation, the project ensures that safeguarding is not imposed upon children but developed with them. The rationale also encompasses the intersectional dimension of child safeguarding. Discrimination based on gender, disability, socio-economic status or cultural background can amplify vulnerability to abuse and exclusion in sport. CRC Sport integrates an inclusive approach that recognises and addresses these intersecting factors. It promotes diversity as a strength and ensures that all safeguarding measures are sensitive to different identities and experiences. In doing so, the project aligns with the EU’s commitment to equality and non-discrimination, as articulated in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and in numerous Council conclusions on sport and inclusion. From a governance perspective, CRC Sport contributes to the ongoing modernisation of the sport sector. The project encourages organisations to view safeguarding not as a compliance requirement but as a dimension of good governance and quality management. This shift in perspective is crucial for sustainability: when safeguarding becomes a structural component of governance, it is more likely to endure beyond the life of a specific project. CRC Sport’s Guidelines and Toolkit support this institutionalisation by offering adaptable templates, case studies and procedures that can be integrated into existing organisational frameworks. In economic terms, the rationale of CRC Sport is also linked to sustainability. Safe and inclusive sport systems are more efficient and resilient. They reduce the social and financial costs associated with harm, litigation or reputation damage, and they build trust among participants and communities. By investing in preventive and educational measures, sport organisations not only fulfil their ethical obligations but also enhance their long-term viability. The CRC Sport model demonstrates that safeguarding is not a cost but a value-creating investment that contributes to organisational excellence and social capital. Finally, the rationale of CRC Sport is forward-looking. It anticipates the challenges that the sport sector will face in the coming decade, including digitalisation, climate change, demographic shifts and new forms of participation. Each of these dynamics presents both opportunities and risks for children’s well-being. The Sustainability Plan situates safeguarding within this broader horizon, emphasising adaptability, innovation and inter-sectoral cooperation as key ingredients for lasting impact. CRC Sport thus positions itself not only as a project but as a catalyst for a long-term movement that embeds children’s rights into the DNA of European sport.

Chapter 3 – Project Outputs and Continuity Strategies The CRC Sport project has produced a coherent and interdependent set of outputs that together form a comprehensive ecosystem for the protection and promotion of children’s rights in sport. Each deliverable responds to a specific need identified in the early stages of the project, yet they are designed to work in synergy, ensuring that research, policy guidance, training, and organisational change mutually reinforce each other. The Sustainability Plan articulates how these outputs will continue to generate impact, ensuring their adoption, replication and integration into national and European frameworks beyond the project’s lifetime. The first output, the European Desk Research and Good Practices Analysis, represents the project’s analytical backbone. Through a systematic review of literature, policies and practices across Member States, this research established an evidence base for understanding the diverse ways in which safeguarding is conceptualised and implemented within sport systems. It identified both innovative models and structural gaps, highlighting the urgent need for a common framework that integrates child-rights principles across all levels of sport. The research also mapped stakeholders and institutional responsibilities, allowing the consortium to design interventions that respond to the realities of governance and capacity at local and national levels. The sustainability of this output lies in its transformation from a project report into an evolving knowledge platform. The consortium has committed to maintaining the CRC Sport online repository as an open-access resource, where updated data, case studies and publications will continue to be uploaded. This will ensure that the research remains a living reference point for academics, practitioners and policy-makers. Moreover, by linking the repository with university programmes and European networks, CRC Sport ensures that its knowledge base contributes to a broader culture of evidence-informed policy-making in sport. The second major output, the Guidelines for a Child-Rights-Based Approach in Sport, translates the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into operational guidance for sport organisations. The Guidelines provide conceptual clarity and practical direction, enabling organisations to understand how rights-based principles such as participation, non-discrimination and the best interests of the child can be embedded into their governance structures and daily operations. They bridge the gap between abstract rights and concrete practices, helping organisations align their codes of conduct, training methodologies and evaluation systems with international standards. Sustainability for the Guidelines will be ensured through integration and dissemination. The CRC Sport consortium is working with national federations, ministries and educational institutions to incorporate the Guidelines into coaching curricula, certification systems and organisational audits. This mainstreaming process guarantees that safeguarding becomes a structural and permanent component of sport education and governance. Furthermore, by maintaining the Guidelines in digital format and translating them into multiple languages, the project maximises their accessibility and

adaptability, allowing each country or federation to contextualise the framework within its cultural and institutional environment. The third output, the National Round Tables and Seminars, represents the participatory and dialogical dimension of CRC Sport. These events were designed to create spaces for reflection, consultation and co-creation among stakeholders. They brought together public authorities, sport federations, civil society organisations, academics and child protection experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities of implementing safeguarding policies in sport. The Round Tables have proven to be powerful instruments for building consensus, disseminating knowledge and initiating collaborations that extend beyond the project boundaries. Ensuring the continuity of these dialogues is central to the Sustainability Plan. The partners intend to institutionalise the Round Tables as annual or biennial national fora, supported by local authorities and sport governing bodies. These fora will serve as permanent mechanisms for policy dialogue and monitoring, allowing stakeholders to share progress, update strategies and align their actions with evolving European frameworks. In the long term, they will form the backbone of the CRC Sport Network, connecting national and transnational actors committed to promoting child safeguarding. The fourth output, the Training Programme Handbook, provides a structured and comprehensive pedagogical framework for equipping coaches, trainers and organisational leaders with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to implement a child-rights-based approach in sport. It combines theoretical modules on children’s rights and ethics with practical guidance on communication, risk assessment, reporting mechanisms and preventive strategies. The Handbook is designed to be flexible and adaptable, enabling its use in different educational settings and sport disciplines. Its sustainability is secured through institutional embedding. The CRC Sport consortium is collaborating with sport academies, universities and national training centres to integrate the Handbook into their continuous education systems. In this way, the content will continue to reach new generations of professionals, ensuring that safeguarding competencies become a standard component of sport education. Additionally, the Handbook is being digitised and transformed into an interactive e-learning tool, expanding its reach and ensuring long-term accessibility. This digital transition is crucial for sustainability, as it allows the training to remain current and scalable across Europe. The fifth output, the Child Safeguarding Policies Toolkit, serves as a practical instrument for organisations to develop, implement and monitor safeguarding policies. It includes templates, checklists, model procedures and examples of good practices, enabling even small and volunteerbased organisations to establish robust systems for child protection. The Toolkit complements the Guidelines and the Handbook, offering an applied dimension that turns principles into procedures and obligations into everyday practices. The continuity of the Toolkit will be maintained through its use as a reference for policy audits, accreditation processes and self-assessment exercises. The CRC Sport partners are committed to updating the Toolkit periodically, incorporating feedback from users and adapting it to new challenges such as digitalisation or changing legal frameworks. By ensuring that the Toolkit remains dynamic, CRC Sport guarantees that safeguarding policies evolve alongside the realities of sport.

Beyond the individual outputs, the sustainability of CRC Sport depends on the integration of its components into a coherent system. Each deliverable reinforces the others: research informs guidelines, guidelines shape training, training feeds into policy dialogue, and policy dialogue sustains research. This circular model creates a self-reinforcing mechanism that generates cumulative impact. The Sustainability Plan ensures that this mechanism remains functional by identifying responsible actors, coordination mechanisms and communication pathways that will persist after the end of EU funding. A crucial part of this strategy is the establishment of the CRC Sport Network. This network will serve as the institutional vehicle for maintaining collaboration among partners, expanding membership and ensuring the continuity of outputs. It will coordinate updates to the research repository, manage the digital platforms hosting the Guidelines and Toolkit, and organise the annual Round Tables. In this way, the Network transforms the temporary project consortium into a sustainable European infrastructure for safeguarding in sport. The exploitation of outputs also contributes to sustainability. Each partner organisation will continue to use CRC Sport materials within its professional and institutional activities. For example, research institutions will integrate the findings into academic curricula and provide policy advice; sport federations will utilise the Toolkit and Guidelines to review their internal procedures; and NGOs will utilise the training materials to deliver capacity-building workshops. This decentralised use ensures that the outputs become embedded in diverse contexts, multiplying their impact and ensuring their relevance. The CRC Sport approach to sustainability is also adaptive. The project acknowledges that the social and institutional environments in which safeguarding is practised will continue to evolve. New challenges, such as online abuse, the application of artificial intelligence in sport management, or the environmental impact of sporting activities, require continuous innovation. Therefore, the CRC Sport framework is designed to be flexible and open-ended. The outputs are not final products but evolving resources that invite further development and contextualisation. Finally, the project’s communication and dissemination activities ensure that its outputs remain visible and accessible. The CRC Sport website will continue to serve as a central hub where all materials are hosted and updated. Social media channels, newsletters and partnerships with European sport networks will maintain visibility and promote knowledge exchange. The CRC Sport brand, associated with trust, expertise and inclusiveness, will help ensure recognition and uptake of its outputs across Europe. In summary, the project’s deliverables are both products and processes — tangible outcomes that continue to evolve through use, adaptation and collaboration. The Sustainability Plan ensures that they remain integrated, relevant and effective in promoting a sport environment that truly respects, protects and fulfils children’s rights. By turning knowledge into policy, policy into practice, and practice into culture, CRC Sport ensures that its legacy will endure as a cornerstone of European safeguarding in sport.

Chapter 4 – Sustainability Pillars The sustainability of the CRC Sport project is conceived as a multidimensional process that combines institutional, social, economic, digital, and ethical dimensions. Each of these pillars contributes to the endurance and relevance of the project’s results beyond the period of direct EU support. Sustainability, in this context, does not merely signify the continuation of activities, but the consolidation of structures, values, and practices that make safeguarding an integral and permanent component of sport systems across Europe. The CRC Sport model acknowledges that the strength of any legacy lies in the depth of its institutional embedding and the vitality of its networks. The first and most fundamental pillar is institutional sustainability, which concerns the capacity of sport organisations, federations, and public authorities to integrate CRC Sport’s principles and tools into their governance systems. Institutional sustainability ensures that safeguarding becomes a standard of operation rather than a temporary or project-based initiative. From the early stages, CRC Sport partners have worked to ensure that the project outputs are compatible with the administrative and procedural frameworks of sport institutions. The Guidelines for a Child-Rights-Based Approach, the Training Handbook, and the Policy Toolkit were deliberately designed to align with existing systems of certification, evaluation, and quality assurance. By embedding CRC Sport materials into these frameworks, the project ensures that safeguarding is no longer an additional activity but an organic part of organisational life. Institutional sustainability also involves leadership. The project recognises that change begins when leaders at all levels take responsibility for implementing and monitoring safeguarding practices. To that end, CRC Sport has invested in capacity-building for managers and policy-makers, helping them to understand not only the ethical imperative of child protection but also its strategic value. By cultivating leadership that views safeguarding as a marker of organisational excellence, CRC Sport ensures that institutional commitment will continue to grow. The project has demonstrated that strong governance structures can transform safeguarding from a compliance issue into a shared culture of care, transparency, and accountability. The second pillar, social sustainability, refers to the cultivation of values, behaviours, and relationships that sustain safeguarding within the broader community of sport. The CRC Sport approach emphasises that safeguarding is not merely an institutional duty but a collective social responsibility. Coaches, educators, parents, children, and volunteers all play a role in maintaining safe environments. The project has worked to foster awareness and dialogue among these actors, building trust and empathy across generations and roles. This social dimension of sustainability is particularly vital because policies and procedures alone cannot protect children; only a shared sense of responsibility can do so. The social pillar also encompasses inclusion and diversity. CRC Sport views social sustainability as inseparable from equity. Ensuring that all children — regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, or social background — can participate safely and fully in sport is essential to the integrity of safeguarding. Through training, advocacy, and policy dialogue, the project has promoted the idea that inclusion is not only a matter of fairness but also of quality: diverse environments are richer, more

creative, and more resilient. In this sense, social sustainability reinforces the European social model, which places solidarity and human dignity at the core of community life. The third pillar is economic sustainability, which guarantees the financial and operational continuity of CRC Sport’s activities and structures. The project’s approach to sustainability recognises that safeguarding, to be effective, must be feasible and affordable. CRC Sport has demonstrated that protecting children’s rights in sport does not require excessive investment but rather intelligent resource allocation, capacity-building, and partnerships. The development of low-cost, high-impact tools such as the digital Toolkit and open-access training modules exemplifies this principle. Moreover, by aligning safeguarding with the strategic priorities of sport federations and public authorities, CRC Sport has positioned its outcomes as investments in quality and efficiency rather than as additional expenses. Economic sustainability also depends on diversification. The CRC Sport consortium envisions a future in which safeguarding initiatives are supported by multiple funding streams, including national budgets, private sponsorships, and community-based resources. Partnerships with foundations, educational institutions, and health organisations will play an essential role in ensuring continuity. By creating a network that combines public legitimacy with private engagement, CRC Sport builds an economic model that balances autonomy and interdependence. This mixed economy of safeguarding enhances resilience, allowing the project’s legacy to withstand financial fluctuations and policy shifts. The fourth pillar, digital sustainability, reflects the increasing role of technology in both sport and education. CRC Sport acknowledges that digitalisation presents both opportunities and challenges for safeguarding. On one hand, digital tools can facilitate learning, communication, and transparency; on the other, they introduce new risks such as online harassment, data misuse, and exclusion due to digital divides. The project’s strategy for digital sustainability focuses on ensuring that technology serves as an enabler of rights rather than a source of vulnerability. The digital platforms developed by CRC Sport — including its website, online repository, and elearning modules — are designed to remain operational, accessible, and adaptable. The consortium has committed to maintaining these resources through shared management and periodic updates. This ensures that CRC Sport’s digital ecosystem continues to provide knowledge, training, and networking opportunities for future users. Moreover, the project has established ethical standards for the use of digital tools, in line with the EU’s data protection framework and human rights principles. By integrating ethical digitalisation into safeguarding practices, CRC Sport positions itself as a reference point for responsible innovation in sport. The fifth pillar, ethical sustainability, underpins all others. CRC Sport is grounded in a clear ethical vision: sport must serve the best interests of the child, respecting their dignity, autonomy, and wellbeing. This ethical orientation transcends institutional and legal requirements, shaping the spirit of the project and guiding its future development. Ethical sustainability ensures that the project’s principles remain coherent even as its forms evolve. It requires a continuous process of reflection, dialogue, and accountability. CRC Sport’s ethical framework is inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Charter on Sport. It translates abstract rights into practical obligations,

ensuring that ethics are operationalised in policies, training, and practice. The project’s emphasis on integrity, transparency, and participation ensures that safeguarding does not become bureaucratic but remains deeply human. Ethical sustainability also involves reflexivity: the willingness of organisations and professionals to question their assumptions, learn from mistakes, and adapt to new challenges. In this way, ethics becomes not a static code but a dynamic process of learning and growth. These five pillars are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Institutional commitment provides stability; social awareness ensures legitimacy; economic planning guarantees feasibility; digital innovation expands reach; and ethical reflection ensures coherence. Together, they create a robust foundation for the long-term viability of CRC Sport. This holistic approach to sustainability reflects the complexity of the challenge: safeguarding children in sport requires not only procedures but also values, relationships, and resources. In the European policy context, the CRC Sport sustainability model also contributes to broader agendas. Institutional sustainability aligns with the EU’s emphasis on good governance and capacitybuilding in sport. Social sustainability supports the European Pillar of Social Rights and the EU’s work on inclusion and equality. Economic sustainability resonates with the principles of the Green and Digital Transitions, promoting efficiency and innovation. Digital sustainability reflects the EU Digital Education Action Plan, while ethical sustainability embodies the values of the European Union itself — respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law. The CRC Sport Sustainability Plan therefore does not merely safeguard the continuity of one project but contributes to the ongoing transformation of sport as a European social institution. It provides a replicable model that other initiatives can adopt, adapt, and expand. By articulating clear pillars of sustainability, CRC Sport ensures that its legacy is not static but generative — a foundation upon which future policies, research, and practices can be built.

Chapter 5 – Governance and Partnership Model The governance and partnership model of the CRC Sport project represents one of its most significant innovations and one of the principal guarantees of its sustainability. From its inception, CRC Sport has been conceived not as a traditional project consortium but as an evolving community of practice — a structure capable of learning, adapting, and governing itself in a participatory and transparent way. The model is based on shared leadership, distributed responsibilities, and the conviction that safeguarding can only be achieved through collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and institutional levels. Governance in CRC Sport is understood as both a system of coordination and a culture of accountability. The project’s governance structure was designed to ensure effective management while also embodying the very principles it promotes — participation, inclusiveness, and respect for rights. This dual purpose has allowed CRC Sport to function efficiently while serving as a living example of good governance in sport. The mechanisms developed within the project will remain operational after its formal conclusion, forming the backbone of the CRC Sport Network and ensuring the long-term coherence of its activities. At the core of the CRC Sport governance model lies the principle of shared leadership. Rather than concentrating authority in a single entity, the project distributed responsibilities according to expertise and function. Each partner organisation contributed distinct competencies — academic research, sport governance, training design, community engagement, or policy advocacy — and was given a degree of autonomy in implementing its tasks. This decentralised model not only enhanced efficiency but also strengthened ownership among partners, creating a sense of collective responsibility that extends beyond the project’s timeframe. The governance structure operates through multiple interconnected layers. At the strategic level, the Coordination Committee provided direction and ensured alignment with the project’s objectives and European policy frameworks. At the operational level, thematic working groups focused on specific tasks such as research, training, dissemination, and policy dialogue. This layered approach allowed for flexibility and responsiveness, enabling the project to adapt to changing circumstances and emerging opportunities. The decision-making processes were guided by principles of transparency, consensus, and accountability, ensuring that all partners had a voice and that decisions were justified, documented, and communicated. This governance model reflects the very essence of safeguarding, which requires the creation of safe, transparent, and participatory environments. CRC Sport applied these principles internally: all major decisions were preceded by open discussion, feedback was actively sought from all partners, and

conflicts were resolved through dialogue rather than hierarchy. This internal culture of participation and respect mirrored the values the project sought to promote externally, reinforcing the credibility and authenticity of its message. The partnership composition of CRC Sport also contributes to its sustainability. The consortium brings together universities, sport organisations, non-governmental organisations, and public authorities. This interdisciplinary composition ensures that the project benefits from a diversity of perspectives and expertise. The academic partners provide scientific rigour and methodological expertise; the sport organisations bring practical experience and access to networks; the NGOs contribute advocacy skills and community engagement; and the public authorities offer institutional legitimacy and policy leverage. Together, these actors form a balanced ecosystem that integrates knowledge, practice, and policy. The partnership model is based on reciprocity and complementarity. Each partner contributes resources and expertise while also benefiting from the collective knowledge generated by the consortium. This mutual exchange strengthens the network’s cohesion and ensures that collaboration continues beyond formal contractual obligations. Many of the relationships established within CRC Sport have already evolved into long-term collaborations, with partners planning joint research, training, and policy initiatives. The Sustainability Plan builds on this dynamic by transforming the temporary consortium into a permanent network dedicated to children’s rights in sport. In terms of governance philosophy, CRC Sport draws inspiration from the concept of **network governance**, which has become increasingly relevant in European policy-making. Network governance emphasises cooperation among autonomous but interdependent actors, coordination through communication and trust rather than hierarchy, and accountability through shared norms and transparency. This approach is particularly well-suited to safeguarding, which requires collaboration among actors who operate in different domains but share a common responsibility. CRC Sport’s network governance model thus represents an innovative contribution to the field, providing a blueprint for how multi-actor partnerships can be structured to deliver social impact. The future CRC Sport Network will build on this model, maintaining a flexible structure that combines coordination with autonomy. The network will operate through a light but effective governance mechanism, consisting of a coordinating secretariat, thematic clusters, and an advisory board. The secretariat will ensure coherence, communication, and continuity; the clusters will promote innovation in specific areas such as policy development, training, or digitalisation; and the advisory board will provide strategic guidance, ensuring alignment with European and international frameworks. This structure will enable the network to remain agile and responsive while preserving accountability and quality. One of the most distinctive aspects of the CRC Sport governance model is its emphasis on participation as a governance principle. Participation is not only a right of children but also a guiding

value for institutions. By embedding participatory mechanisms within its governance, CRC Sport ensures that decisions are informed by multiple perspectives and that power is distributed rather than concentrated. This participatory ethos will continue to characterise the network’s operations, promoting inclusiveness, gender equality, and respect for diversity in all governance processes. Transparency is another cornerstone of CRC Sport governance. The project has developed clear procedures for reporting, communication, and evaluation, ensuring that all partners have access to information and that accountability is maintained. Transparency builds trust, and trust is essential for sustainability. The project’s communication practices — regular updates, shared documentation, open meetings — have created a culture in which information flows freely, misunderstandings are minimised, and collective intelligence is maximised. This transparency will be maintained in the postproject phase through open-access reporting, regular stakeholder consultations, and digital communication platforms. A key dimension of the CRC Sport partnership model is capacity-building. The project does not only produce tools and frameworks but also strengthens the institutional and human capacities of its partners. Through training, mentoring, and peer learning, partners have enhanced their expertise in safeguarding, research, and project management. This capacity-building effect contributes to sustainability by ensuring that knowledge and skills remain within the organisations long after the project ends. Moreover, the partners themselves become multipliers, capable of training others and disseminating CRC Sport methodologies in their respective countries and networks. Another element that enhances the sustainability of the partnership model is intergenerational continuity. CRC Sport has actively involved young professionals, students, and early-career researchers in its activities, ensuring that a new generation is equipped to carry forward the project’s legacy. This forward-looking strategy ensures that safeguarding expertise does not remain concentrated in a small group but becomes part of the broader professional culture of sport. By investing in the next generation of leaders, CRC Sport guarantees that its vision will remain alive and evolving. From a policy perspective, the CRC Sport governance model aligns with the European principles of good governance in sport, as articulated in numerous Council conclusions and in the EU Work Plan for Sport. These principles include transparency, accountability, democracy, and participation — all of which are embedded in CRC Sport’s structure and practice. The project thus not only implements but also exemplifies European policy standards, offering a practical demonstration of how they can be operationalised within a transnational partnership. The governance and partnership model also plays a crucial role in dissemination and advocacy. Because the consortium includes organisations with established reputations and networks in their respective fields, CRC Sport has been able to reach diverse audiences and influence policy debates at multiple levels. The network structure ensures that each partner acts as a dissemination hub,

amplifying the project’s visibility and ensuring that its messages reach both grassroots and institutional audiences. This decentralised approach to communication reinforces sustainability by ensuring that awareness and advocacy continue independently within each partner’s ecosystem. In conclusion, the CRC Sport governance and partnership model represents a living example of the project’s principles in action. It demonstrates that safeguarding is not only a goal but also a method — a way of working that is transparent, inclusive, and collaborative. By institutionalising these values within its governance structures, CRC Sport has created a model that others can emulate. The governance and partnership system is not an administrative necessity but a moral and strategic choice, embodying the conviction that good governance is the most effective form of safeguarding. As CRC Sport transitions into its legacy phase, the governance and partnership model will remain the foundation of its sustainability. Through continued collaboration, mutual trust, and shared commitment, the network will ensure that the principles and practices developed through the project continue to inspire, guide, and transform the world of sport across Europe.

Chapter 6 – Policy Integration and Alignment with European Frameworks The CRC Sport project was conceived and implemented within a robust European policy ecosystem that recognises sport as both a social good and a vehicle for human development. The project’s relevance and sustainability derive in large part from its capacity to align its objectives and methodologies with the strategic priorities of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations. This alignment ensures not only the coherence of CRC Sport within existing frameworks but also its capacity to influence future policy directions, particularly in the fields of children’s rights, inclusion, education, and health. Policy integration is therefore not a secondary outcome but a central strategy for long-term sustainability, enabling the project’s principles and tools to become embedded in the institutional DNA of European sport systems. The foundation of CRC Sport’s policy alignment lies in its direct contribution to the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2021–2024), which sets out a comprehensive vision for making Europe the best place in the world for children to grow up. The project translates several key objectives of the Strategy into concrete action. By promoting the participation of children in decision-making processes within sport organisations, CRC Sport operationalises the Strategy’s call for inclusive governance. By developing the Guidelines for a Child-Rights-Based Approach and the Safeguarding Toolkit, it addresses the Strategy’s emphasis on protection from violence, abuse and neglect. Through its training and awareness activities, the project contributes to the Strategy’s goal of empowering professionals who work with and for children. This alignment not only strengthens the project’s legitimacy but also ensures its long-term relevance within European policy discourse. Closely connected to this is the European Child Guarantee, which seeks to prevent and combat child poverty and social exclusion by ensuring access to key services, including education, healthcare, and leisure. Sport, in this framework, is recognised as an essential arena for inclusion and well-being. CRC Sport contributes to the Child Guarantee by promoting access to safe and inclusive sporting environments, particularly for children from disadvantaged or marginalised backgrounds. By supporting sport as a site of empowerment rather than exclusion, the project transforms an abstract policy principle into tangible, localised actions. The Sustainability Plan ensures that these efforts continue through the integration of CRC Sport methodologies into local welfare and education policies, creating a bridge between the sport and social sectors. The EU Work Plan for Sport 2021–2024 provides another crucial policy anchor for CRC Sport. The Work Plan identifies integrity, good governance, and safeguarding as key priorities for the development of European sport. CRC Sport directly addresses these objectives through its holistic framework that combines research, training, and policy dialogue. Its emphasis on good governance in sport mirrors the EU’s call for transparency, accountability, and ethical management. Furthermore, by establishing mechanisms for collaboration between sport organisations, public authorities, and

civil society, CRC Sport embodies the principle of multi-level governance that underpins the EU’s approach to sport policy. This direct correspondence between the project’s activities and the EU Work Plan ensures that CRC Sport contributes to the implementation of European priorities while also offering models that can inform future policy updates. CRC Sport’s alignment extends beyond sport-specific frameworks. It contributes to broader EU strategies, particularly the European Pillar of Social Rights, which enshrines principles of equal opportunity, inclusion, and protection. Sport is increasingly recognised as a social field in which these principles can be realised. CRC Sport strengthens this connection by demonstrating how child protection in sport contributes to social cohesion, equality, and the prevention of discrimination. In doing so, the project supports the EU’s social agenda and reinforces the view of sport as a key component of the European social model. The project also supports the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025, which seeks to eliminate gender-based violence and promote equal participation in all areas of life. Within sport, gender inequality and abuse remain persistent challenges. CRC Sport’s safeguarding framework includes a strong gender-sensitive component, ensuring that policies and training address the specific vulnerabilities of girls and young women in sport. By integrating gender equality into its broader child-rights perspective, CRC Sport strengthens the coherence of European efforts to build inclusive and safe environments for all children. This intersectional approach positions the project as an essential contributor to the EU’s gender mainstreaming objectives. Beyond EU-level policies, CRC Sport aligns with international frameworks that reinforce its sustainability and global relevance. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provides the normative foundation for all of the project’s activities. Every guideline, toolkit, and training module produced under CRC Sport is anchored in the four core principles of the Convention: non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, and the right to participation. By translating these principles into operational standards for sport organisations, CRC Sport brings international law to life at the grassroots level. The project thus demonstrates how global human rights commitments can be localised through sector-specific initiatives, providing a replicable model for other domains such as culture or education. CRC Sport’s work also resonates with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. Sport is explicitly recognised by the UN as an enabler of sustainable development, contributing to goals related to health, education, gender equality, and peace. The CRC Sport framework contributes directly to several SDGs, including Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Each of these goals finds practical expression within the project’s activities: promoting healthy lifestyles through safe sport, providing educational resources, fostering gender-sensitive policies, reducing inequalities in access to participation, strengthening institutions through governance reform, and building partnerships for collective impact. This alignment situates CRC Sport within a global movement that views sport as a driver of sustainable social transformation. At the regional level, CRC Sport aligns with the Council of Europe’s standards on child protection in sport, particularly those established under the "Start to Talk" initiative and the "Pro Safe Sport"

programme. These initiatives share CRC Sport’s objective of eradicating abuse and neglect in sport through awareness, education, and institutional reform. The CRC Sport consortium has actively engaged with these networks, ensuring coherence and complementarity. The Sustainability Plan foresees continued collaboration with the Council of Europe to harmonise methodologies, exchange data, and jointly promote the implementation of safeguarding policies. This alignment strengthens the project’s legitimacy and enhances its potential for policy influence at both European and national levels. The policy integration strategy of CRC Sport is not limited to alignment with existing frameworks but also includes active contribution to policy development. Through its research and advocacy, the project provides evidence and recommendations that can inform the next iterations of EU and national sport policies. The Good Practices Analysis and National Round Tables have generated insights into the barriers and enablers of safeguarding implementation across Member States. These findings can support policy-makers in designing more effective and context-sensitive measures. In this sense, CRC Sport functions as a bridge between research and policy, translating empirical knowledge into actionable recommendations. At national level, CRC Sport supports the implementation of safeguarding within diverse legal and institutional contexts. The project has facilitated dialogue among ministries, sport federations, and child protection agencies, helping to align national regulations with European standards. In some partner countries, the project has already contributed to policy developments, such as the introduction of safeguarding clauses in sport legislation or the establishment of child protection officers in sport organisations. These tangible outcomes demonstrate the project’s capacity to influence structural change beyond the pilot phase. The Sustainability Plan aims to consolidate these gains by institutionalising CRC Sport’s tools and frameworks within national policies, ensuring long-term adoption. CRC Sport also contributes to the EU’s Digital Education Action Plan (2021–2027) by integrating digital learning and communication tools into safeguarding education. The e-learning version of the Training Handbook promotes digital inclusion, supporting the EU’s vision of accessible and highquality digital education. Moreover, the project’s emphasis on ethical digitalisation resonates with the EU’s broader efforts to create safe online environments for children, as outlined in the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids. This digital dimension of policy alignment ensures that CRC Sport remains at the forefront of contemporary debates on the intersection between technology, education, and child protection. By aligning with and contributing to these European and international frameworks, CRC Sport ensures that its outcomes are not isolated innovations but integral components of a wider policy ecosystem. This alignment enhances sustainability by creating multiple channels for institutional embedding, policy uptake, and funding continuity. It also ensures that CRC Sport remains adaptable to future policy developments, such as the forthcoming EU Work Plan for Sport and updates to the European Child Guarantee. In essence, CRC Sport exemplifies how policy integration can transform a time-bound project into a structural actor within the European governance landscape. By positioning safeguarding in sport at the crossroads of child rights, education, health, and social inclusion, the project transcends sectoral

boundaries and contributes to a holistic vision of human development. The Sustainability Plan therefore, does not merely preserve CRC Sport’s legacy but situates it within a continuum of European policy innovation — a framework through which the principles of dignity, safety, and participation can continue to evolve and shape the future of sport in Europe

Chapter 7 – Capacity Building and Training Legacy Capacity building lies at the heart of the CRC Sport project. From its inception, the consortium understood that sustainable safeguarding in sport cannot be achieved solely through policy documents, regulations, or institutional frameworks. It requires people — professionals, volunteers, coaches, and administrators — who possess the knowledge, skills, and ethical awareness necessary to translate principles into daily practice. The success and long-term viability of CRC Sport therefore depend on the cultivation of human capital: a community of trained and empowered individuals who can act as multipliers of change within their organisations and communities. This is what constitutes the project’s training legacy, a legacy that is as human as it is institutional. The CRC Sport capacity-building strategy is based on a clear pedagogical vision: that learning should be transformative rather than merely informative. Training participants are not passive recipients of knowledge but active agents engaged in reflection, dialogue, and experiential learning. The project’s Training Programme Handbook was designed around this principle, combining theoretical insights with participatory methodologies that invite learners to connect concepts with lived experience. The goal is not only to impart technical knowledge of safeguarding procedures but to foster a deep understanding of children’s rights, empathy, and professional responsibility. The structure of the CRC Sport training programme reflects this approach. It begins with foundational knowledge — understanding what a child-rights-based approach entails, the legal frameworks that underpin it, and the ethical values that sustain it. It then moves into applied dimensions, addressing practical aspects such as risk assessment, communication with children, and the establishment of reporting mechanisms. The final stage of the training emphasises reflection and self-evaluation, encouraging participants to critically assess their practices and to identify areas for improvement. In this way, capacity building becomes a process of continuous learning and adaptation rather than a one-off activity. A distinctive feature of CRC Sport training is its interdisciplinarity. The project recognises that safeguarding in sport sits at the intersection of several domains — education, psychology, social work, and law — and that effective training must draw from each of these fields. The programme therefore integrates perspectives from multiple disciplines, offering participants a holistic understanding of the challenges they face. This interdisciplinary approach not only enhances the quality of learning but also fosters collaboration among professionals from different backgrounds. By creating shared language and mutual understanding, CRC Sport breaks down the silos that often separate sport practitioners from child protection specialists. The training component of CRC Sport also serves as a platform for cultural change. In many sporting environments, particularly at grassroots level, traditional attitudes toward authority, discipline, and competition can conflict with modern safeguarding principles. The project addresses this by promoting reflective practice and critical thinking. Participants are encouraged to examine their own assumptions about power, performance, and childhood, and to reframe these concepts in light of

children’s rights. Through facilitated discussions, case studies, and role-playing exercises, they explore how everyday decisions — from coaching styles to organisational policies — can either support or undermine a child’s well-being. This process of reflection is essential to sustainability, as it nurtures a professional ethos grounded in respect and empathy. Another element that reinforces the sustainability of CRC Sport’s capacity-building efforts is its integration into formal and non-formal education systems. The project has established partnerships with universities, sport academies, and national training centres to embed the CRC Sport curriculum into existing programmes for coaches and sport managers. In doing so, it ensures that safeguarding training becomes a permanent component of professional qualification pathways. Future generations of sport professionals will thus encounter CRC Sport principles not as external interventions but as intrinsic elements of their education and professional identity. This institutionalisation of training represents a key pillar of the project’s long-term impact. Beyond formal education, CRC Sport promotes informal and community-based learning. Many of the project’s training sessions and workshops have taken place within local clubs, schools, and community centres, reaching volunteers and parents who play a critical role in shaping children’s sporting experiences. By engaging these actors, the project extends its influence beyond professional circles and into the everyday contexts where safeguarding either succeeds or fails. The emphasis on community involvement also reflects the participatory ethos of the project: safeguarding is a collective effort that depends on awareness and shared responsibility across society. The digital dimension of capacity building further enhances sustainability. Recognising the transformative potential of technology in education, CRC Sport has developed an e-learning version of its training programme. This digital format increases accessibility, allowing coaches, educators, and administrators from across Europe to engage with the materials at their own pace. The e-learning platform includes interactive modules, video tutorials, and reflective exercises, replicating the participatory and experiential elements of face-to-face training. By adopting open-access and multilingual formats, CRC Sport ensures that the digital resources remain inclusive and adaptable. The online environment also facilitates continuous updating of content, ensuring that the training remains current with emerging challenges, such as online safeguarding and the ethical use of digital tools in sport. The sustainability of capacity building is also ensured through the creation of a professional community of practice. During the project, CRC Sport established networks of trained professionals who remain connected through online forums, periodic seminars, and collaborative projects. These networks serve as spaces for peer support, knowledge exchange, and mutual learning. They enable practitioners to share experiences, discuss challenges, and co-develop new solutions. This ongoing interaction prevents the isolation that often follows the conclusion of training programmes and reinforces a sense of belonging to a broader movement for change. The Sustainability Plan envisions these communities of practice as a permanent feature of the CRC Sport Network, ensuring that learning remains dynamic and relational. Evaluation plays a key role in maintaining the quality and effectiveness of capacity-building activities. CRC Sport has developed a framework for monitoring the impact of training at individual and organisational levels. Participants are encouraged to set personal and institutional goals, which

are reviewed periodically through self-assessment and peer feedback. Data collected from these evaluations feed into a continuous improvement cycle, informing updates to the training materials and methodologies. This evidence-based approach ensures that capacity building remains relevant, responsive, and accountable. An often-overlooked dimension of capacity building is emotional sustainability. Working in safeguarding can be demanding, both intellectually and emotionally. CRC Sport recognises that professionals engaged in child protection need support to manage the emotional challenges of their work. The training programme, therefore, includes modules on self-care, stress management, and ethical resilience. By addressing the well-being of practitioners, the project acknowledges that sustainable safeguarding requires not only competent but also emotionally healthy professionals. This holistic approach enhances retention, motivation, and the overall quality of safeguarding practice. In the long term, the CRC Sport training legacy will continue to evolve through the network’s partnerships and collaborations. The project’s methodologies and materials will be shared with other EU-funded initiatives, regional sport federations, and international organisations. Opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration — for example, with education, health, and youth sectors — will expand the reach and impact of training. Moreover, the network plans to establish an annual European Safeguarding in Sport Academy, a platform for advanced training, research dissemination, and policy dialogue. This academy will serve as both a repository of knowledge and a catalyst for innovation, ensuring that CRC Sport remains at the forefront of safeguarding education in Europe. Ultimately, the CRC Sport capacity-building strategy demonstrates that sustainability is not a static condition but a continuous process of learning and renewal. By empowering individuals and institutions to act as agents of change, the project ensures that its principles and practices will endure beyond its formal boundaries. The training legacy of CRC Sport is therefore not confined to a set of materials or modules; it is embodied in the professionals who carry forward its values, the institutions that adopt its standards, and the communities that embrace its vision of safe, inclusive, and empowering sport for every child.

Chapter 8 – Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Communication and dissemination have been central to the CRC Sport project from its earliest stages. The consortium recognised that the sustainability of any initiative depends not only on the quality of its outputs but also on the visibility, accessibility, and credibility of its message. Safeguarding in sport, as a policy and cultural objective, requires broad public engagement. It must resonate not only with experts and decision-makers but also with families, educators, athletes, and the wider community. The CRC Sport communication and dissemination strategy was therefore designed as a vehicle for cultural change — a way to transform knowledge into awareness, and awareness into action. The project’s communication philosophy is grounded in three principles: transparency, inclusiveness, and participation. Transparency ensures that information about CRC Sport’s goals, processes, and results is available and understandable to all stakeholders. Inclusiveness guarantees that communication reaches diverse audiences, including groups that are often excluded from policy discussions, such as grassroots coaches, volunteers, and children themselves. Participation, finally, transforms communication from a one-way dissemination process into a dialogue, where stakeholders are invited to contribute, reflect, and co-create. This participatory communication approach mirrors the project’s overall ethos: safeguarding is not imposed; it is built collectively. The CRC Sport visual and narrative identity has played a crucial role in creating recognition and trust. The project brand — including its name, logo, and design — was deliberately crafted to convey professionalism, inclusiveness, and European values. “CRC” stands for “Convention on the Rights of the Child,” grounding the project explicitly in the international human rights framework, while “Sport” situates it in the everyday life of millions of Europeans. The fusion of these two words signals a clear and memorable mission: bringing children’s rights into sport. This strong identity has allowed CRC Sport to position itself as a credible and authoritative voice within European debates on safeguarding. Communication activities have been diverse and multi-channel. Throughout its implementation, the project has used traditional and digital media to reach both professional and public audiences. The CRC Sport website serves as the central hub, hosting project documents, news, and educational materials in an accessible format. It has been designed not merely as a repository of information but as an interactive space that fosters community engagement. The website will remain operational after the end of the project, evolving into a permanent platform that continues to disseminate updates, share resources, and host training modules. This digital permanence is a cornerstone of sustainability, ensuring that CRC Sport’s outputs remain visible and usable over time. Social media has also been a key instrument in CRC Sport’s communication strategy. Through platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, the project has reached a wide and diverse audience, creating a European conversation around safeguarding in sport. These channels have been used not only to disseminate information but also to foster dialogue — inviting followers to share experiences, reflect on challenges, and contribute to ongoing debates. By using accessible language and visual storytelling, the project has succeeded in communicating complex

ideas about rights and governance in ways that are engaging and relatable. This digital presence will continue beyond the project’s lifetime, managed by the CRC Sport Network as part of its long-term communication framework. Dissemination has also relied on direct engagement with stakeholders through events and publications. National Round Tables, seminars, and conferences have served as platforms for the exchange of ideas and the dissemination of results. These events have not only showcased the project’s outputs but also provided opportunities for co-creation and feedback, ensuring that dissemination is a two-way process. In addition, academic publications, policy briefs, and media articles have positioned CRC Sport within both scholarly and policy debates, enhancing its legitimacy and extending its influence. The dissemination strategy has thus combined visibility with depth, ensuring that the project reaches broad audiences while maintaining intellectual and ethical rigour. The Sustainability Plan ensures that these communication and dissemination activities will not end with the project’s formal conclusion. The CRC Sport brand and digital infrastructure will continue to be used by the partner organisations as part of their ongoing activities. Each partner has committed to maintaining a section of the website or contributing to periodic updates, ensuring that the platform remains dynamic and relevant. The CRC Sport Network will also coordinate annual communication campaigns around key European and international dates, such as Universal Children’s Day or International Safe Sport Week, keeping the issue of safeguarding in the public eye. Exploitation — the strategic use and uptake of project results — represents another key aspect of sustainability. In the context of CRC Sport, exploitation refers to the processes by which the project’s outputs are integrated into policies, training systems, and organisational practices. The consortium has developed a detailed exploitation strategy that identifies potential users, contexts, and pathways for adoption. This includes embedding the Guidelines, Toolkit, and Handbook into the standard operations of sport federations, incorporating them into national qualification frameworks, and promoting their use in academic curricula. By facilitating such institutional uptake, CRC Sport ensures that its results are not confined to project documentation but translated into enduring social change. The exploitation strategy also relies on the creation of synergies with other European initiatives and networks. CRC Sport has established partnerships with organisations such as the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), the European Olympic Committees, and the Council of Europe’s “Start to Talk” campaign. These collaborations allow the project’s results to be disseminated and adopted across a wider array of contexts. Through these alliances, CRC Sport contributes to a growing ecosystem of organisations committed to safeguarding, ensuring that its outputs continue to inform practice and policy at both European and national levels. One of the defining features of CRC Sport’s communication and dissemination strategy is its childcentred approach. The project recognises that children are not only beneficiaries of safeguarding but also active participants in shaping its meaning. Efforts have been made to communicate directly with young audiences, using accessible language, creative media, and participatory methods. Childfriendly materials derived from the Guidelines and Toolkit have been produced to help young athletes understand their rights and know how to seek help if needed. This emphasis on communication with

and for children strengthens the project’s ethical foundation and ensures that safeguarding remains rooted in the lived experiences of those it aims to protect. The legacy of CRC Sport communication will also be secured through the production of a final documentary and a series of short video testimonials, capturing the voices of stakeholders, trainers, and young participants. These audiovisual narratives will serve both as evidence of impact and as educational tools for future initiatives. Storytelling plays a crucial role in sustainability, as it connects abstract principles with human experience, making the project’s message memorable and emotionally resonant. By preserving and sharing these stories, CRC Sport ensures that the project's spirit continues to inspire action long after its conclusion. The impact of CRC Sport’s dissemination efforts extends beyond visibility; it contributes to the shaping of public discourse on safeguarding in sport. The project has helped normalise discussions about child protection, shifting them from the margins of sport policy to its centre. This cultural shift is perhaps the most enduring outcome of the communication strategy. By framing safeguarding as a positive, empowering process rather than a restrictive obligation, CRC Sport has changed perceptions among professionals and the public alike. It has demonstrated that safe sport is not only possible but desirable — that it enhances trust, participation, and excellence. Evaluation of communication and dissemination activities has confirmed their effectiveness. Metrics such as website visits, social media engagement, and event participation demonstrate a steady increase in audience reach and interaction. More importantly, qualitative feedback indicates that CRC Sport’s messages have resonated with stakeholders, prompting concrete changes in attitudes and behaviours. This evidence will be used to refine future communication efforts under the CRC Sport Network, ensuring that dissemination remains strategic, inclusive, and impactful. In the long term, the communication, dissemination, and exploitation strategy will serve as a blueprint for other European projects seeking to ensure sustainability. CRC Sport demonstrates that effective communication is not an accessory but a core component of policy innovation. By investing in communication as a means of empowerment and participation, the project extends its influence far beyond its immediate outputs. It leaves behind a community of informed and engaged actors who continue to advocate for children’s rights in sport, a digital infrastructure that facilitates ongoing exchange, and a brand that symbolises integrity and care. Ultimately, the CRC Sport communication and dissemination legacy is both structural and symbolic. It has built the channels through which knowledge can continue to flow, but it has also created a shared narrative — a story about what European sport can and should be when guided by respect for human dignity. This story will continue to evolve, carried forward by the voices and actions of those who believe that sport, at its best, is not a privilege but a right, and that every child deserves to grow, learn, and play in safety.

Chapter 9 – Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Monitoring and evaluation have been integral to the CRC Sport project from its design phase, conceived not merely as administrative requirements but as instruments of learning, accountability, and sustainability. The project’s commitment to safeguarding in sport is inseparable from its commitment to transparency and continuous improvement. Sustainability, in this sense, depends on the capacity to measure progress, assess impact, and adapt to change. The CRC Sport monitoring and evaluation framework therefore serves as both a mirror and a compass: it reflects the project’s achievements while guiding its ongoing evolution. The CRC Sport evaluation model is grounded in the principles of participatory monitoring and evidence-based assessment. These principles recognise that effective evaluation must involve all relevant stakeholders and must be informed by both quantitative and qualitative data. The project has adopted a pluralistic approach that combines statistical indicators with narratives, case studies, and reflective analysis. This ensures that the measurement of success captures not only outputs and outcomes but also processes, behaviours, and cultural shifts — the dimensions of change that are most relevant to safeguarding. From the outset, CRC Sport established clear objectives and indicators aligned with its theory of change. These indicators were designed to measure progress in four key areas: knowledge production, capacity building, policy influence, and cultural transformation. The first dimension, knowledge production, focuses on the generation and dissemination of reliable data and insights on safeguarding practices in European sport. The second, capacity building, assesses improvements in the skills and competencies of professionals. The third, policy influence, evaluates the degree to which CRC Sport has contributed to the development and implementation of safeguarding policies at national and European levels. The fourth, cultural transformation, seeks to capture the less tangible but profoundly important shift in attitudes, values, and norms within sport organisations and communities. The monitoring process has been continuous and multi-level. Each partner organisation was responsible for collecting data on activities, participation, and feedback, while the central coordination team ensured coherence and quality control. Periodic reports provided opportunities for reflection and adjustment, transforming monitoring from a compliance exercise into a tool for adaptive management. This approach has allowed the project to remain flexible, responding to emerging needs and contextual changes without losing sight of its overall objectives. Such adaptability is a key feature of sustainability, as it enables CRC Sport to evolve alongside the environments it seeks to influence. Qualitative evaluation has played a particularly important role in CRC Sport. While quantitative data can demonstrate reach and efficiency, qualitative methods capture depth and meaning. Through interviews, focus groups, and reflective diaries, the project gathered rich insights into how participants experienced the training, how organisations integrated safeguarding into their operations, and how attitudes toward child protection evolved over time. These narratives reveal the human dimension of change, illustrating how policies and tools translate into practice and how professionals internalise the principles of a child-rights-based approach. The stories collected through these

qualitative processes form part of the project’s living legacy, providing inspiration and guidance for future initiatives. Impact assessment extends beyond the project’s immediate lifespan. CRC Sport’s Sustainability Plan includes a framework for longitudinal evaluation, ensuring that the effects of the project can be measured and understood in the years following its conclusion. This framework is based on periodic follow-up surveys, stakeholder consultations, and data collection through the CRC Sport Network. The goal is to track not only the persistence of activities but also their ripple effects — the ways in which the project’s outputs continue to shape policies, institutions, and professional practices over time. Long-term impact will be assessed in relation to the extent to which safeguarding becomes institutionalised within sport organisations and the degree to which children experience tangible improvements in safety, participation, and inclusion. The project’s evaluation framework also embodies the principle of accountability. By systematically collecting and analysing data, CRC Sport demonstrates transparency toward its stakeholders and funders. Accountability, however, is understood not as control but as a form of mutual trust. The sharing of evaluation results among partners fosters collective responsibility and mutual learning. Successes are celebrated, but challenges and failures are also openly discussed, generating insights that feed back into strategy. This culture of honesty and reflection is itself a hallmark of sustainable organisations. CRC Sport’s approach to evaluation has been guided by the notion of “impact pathways” — the recognition that change occurs through a series of interlinked processes rather than linear cause-andeffect chains. For example, training a coach in safeguarding does not automatically result in safer environments for children, but it contributes to a broader process involving awareness, institutional policy, and community support. By mapping these pathways, the project is able to identify where interventions have the greatest leverage and where additional support may be required. This analytical clarity enhances strategic planning and resource allocation in the post-project phase. A particularly innovative element of the CRC Sport monitoring framework is the integration of ethical evaluation. Because the project deals with sensitive issues such as child protection and abuse prevention, ethical integrity is a core aspect of its quality. The evaluation process therefore includes mechanisms for assessing compliance with ethical standards, such as confidentiality, informed consent, and data protection. Beyond procedural ethics, the evaluation also considers the moral dimensions of impact: whether the project’s activities respect the dignity and autonomy of children, and whether they contribute to a culture of empathy and respect. This ethical evaluation ensures that CRC Sport’s pursuit of impact does not compromise its values but reinforces them. The monitoring and evaluation system also contributes to capacity building. By involving partners and stakeholders in the evaluation process, CRC Sport enhances their ability to measure and reflect on their own activities. Training sessions on evaluation methodologies, data collection, and analysis have empowered partners to continue monitoring safeguarding initiatives beyond the life of the project. This diffusion of evaluative capacity ensures that learning and accountability become permanent features of organisational culture. It also contributes to the broader European objective of strengthening evidence-based policy-making in sport and social inclusion.

In terms of methodology, CRC Sport has combined participatory and scientific rigour. Data triangulation ensures reliability, while stakeholder engagement ensures relevance. The combination of quantitative indicators, such as numbers of trained professionals or policy adoptions, with qualitative indicators, such as changes in perception or organisational climate, allows for a nuanced understanding of impact. Moreover, the evaluation has been designed to be proportional and nonintrusive, ensuring that data collection does not interfere with the primary mission of safeguarding. The focus is always on learning and improvement rather than control or punishment. The results of monitoring and evaluation are not static reports but catalysts for dialogue and innovation. Each evaluation cycle concludes with a reflection phase, during which partners review findings, identify lessons, and co-design adjustments. These learning loops ensure that CRC Sport remains dynamic and responsive. They also generate evidence that can be shared with policy-makers and other stakeholders, demonstrating the value and effectiveness of safeguarding initiatives. The documentation of lessons learned contributes to a growing body of knowledge on good practices, supporting replication and scaling across Europe. The sustainability of monitoring and evaluation depends on institutionalisation. The CRC Sport Network will assume responsibility for maintaining the evaluation system in the post-project phase. This includes coordinating data collection, producing annual reports, and facilitating peer review among members. By embedding evaluation into the governance of the network, the project ensures that monitoring is not an external obligation but an internal culture. This institutionalisation of learning and accountability is one of the strongest indicators of sustainability, as it guarantees that improvement will continue to be driven by evidence and reflection. Finally, impact assessment in CRC Sport is understood as both measurement and meaning-making. Numbers alone cannot capture the full scope of change; impact also resides in the transformation of relationships, perceptions, and possibilities. The testimonies of coaches who have changed their practices, of children who feel safer and more confident, of organisations that have adopted new policies — these stories constitute the true measure of success. They reveal that sustainability is not only about continuation but about deepening: embedding values so firmly in structures and minds that they become self-sustaining. Through its comprehensive monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment system, CRC Sport ensures that its legacy is not only visible and measurable but also meaningful, enduring, and alive.

Chapter 10 – Risk Management and Adaptive Strategies Sustainability is not a static achievement but a process that must withstand change, uncertainty, and complexity. In this sense, CRC Sport has been designed as a resilient system — one capable of anticipating risks, responding to challenges, and adapting to new circumstances without losing its core purpose. Risk management, therefore, is not treated as a defensive mechanism but as an essential component of strategic foresight. By identifying potential vulnerabilities and building adaptive capacities, the CRC Sport project ensures that its legacy remains robust, flexible, and relevant in a rapidly evolving social and institutional landscape. The starting point for CRC Sport’s approach to risk management lies in recognising the diverse types of risks that can affect sustainability. These include organisational, financial, political, social, technological, and ethical risks. Each of these dimensions carries potential threats, but also opportunities for innovation. Organisational risks relate to the ability of the CRC Sport Network and its partners to maintain effective coordination and commitment over time. Financial risks concern the availability of resources to continue activities once EU funding has concluded. Political risks arise from shifts in policy priorities or changes in government structures that could affect the institutional environment for safeguarding. Social risks involve fluctuations in public awareness or resistance to cultural change. Technological risks refer to the rapid pace of digital transformation, which can both enable and undermine safeguarding efforts. Ethical risks, finally, concern the need to maintain integrity, transparency, and respect for rights in all activities. The CRC Sport Sustainability Plan addresses each of these dimensions through a framework that integrates prevention, mitigation, and adaptation. Organisational resilience is the first line of defence. CRC Sport has built a governance and partnership model that distributes responsibility and authority across multiple actors. This decentralised structure reduces dependency on any single institution and enhances flexibility. The network governance approach allows for continuity even if individual partners undergo internal changes or transitions. Decision-making processes are transparent and inclusive, ensuring that the project can adapt to new circumstances without losing coherence. Furthermore, the creation of thematic clusters within the network encourages innovation and renewal, allowing different groups to focus on emerging issues while maintaining alignment with the project’s mission. This organisational design transforms potential fragility into strength, as diversity and shared ownership provide the foundation for sustainability. Financial resilience is equally important. The CRC Sport consortium recognises that the end of direct EU funding presents both a challenge and an opportunity to diversify resources. The Sustainability Plan outlines strategies for maintaining financial stability through partnerships, co-funding mechanisms, and integration into existing institutional budgets. By demonstrating the social and economic value of safeguarding, CRC Sport positions itself to attract support from multiple sectors, including public institutions, private sponsors, and philanthropic foundations. The cost-effectiveness of the project’s tools — many of which are digital, open-access, and scalable — further enhances financial sustainability. The guiding principle is that safeguarding should not depend on extraordinary

funding but should be embedded within the regular functioning of sport systems, becoming part of their operational identity. Political and policy risks are also addressed through proactive engagement. The landscape of European sport policy is dynamic, shaped by changing priorities and governance structures. To mitigate the risk of policy discontinuity, CRC Sport aligns itself with a broad spectrum of policy frameworks that transcend electoral or institutional cycles — such as the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe conventions, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These frameworks provide stability and legitimacy, anchoring CRC Sport within long-term commitments that are unlikely to be reversed. At the same time, the project maintains flexibility by participating in policy dialogues and consultations, ensuring that it can adapt to new agendas and contribute to shaping emerging priorities. This dual strategy — anchoring in stable values while engaging with dynamic processes — is key to political resilience. Social risks present a more complex challenge, as they involve attitudes, perceptions, and cultural norms that evolve slowly and unevenly. Resistance to safeguarding measures may arise in environments where traditional views of authority and competition prevail, or where discussions about abuse and rights are still taboo. CRC Sport addresses these risks through communication, education, and participation. By engaging communities in dialogue and emphasising the positive dimensions of safeguarding — trust, fairness, and well-being — the project transforms potential resistance into collaboration. The participatory nature of the CRC Sport training and policy processes ensures that stakeholders feel ownership rather than imposition, reducing the likelihood of backlash. Moreover, the growing visibility of the CRC Sport brand contributes to social legitimacy, making safeguarding an accepted and celebrated element of sport culture. Technological risks are a newer and rapidly evolving area of concern. The digital transformation of sport brings opportunities for communication, monitoring, and learning, but also new forms of vulnerability. Online abuse, data privacy breaches, and the misuse of digital platforms can undermine safeguarding efforts. CRC Sport’s approach to digital risk management combines prevention with innovation. The project has established ethical standards for digital use, aligned with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids. It also promotes digital literacy among professionals and children, ensuring that technology serves empowerment rather than exploitation. The adaptability of the CRC Sport e-learning and communication platforms allows them to incorporate new safety protocols as technology evolves, turning potential risks into opportunities for continuous improvement. Ethical risks, finally, represent the most fundamental dimension of sustainability. CRC Sport operates in a domain that deals directly with human vulnerability and trust. Any compromise of ethical integrity — whether through negligence, bias, or misconduct — could damage not only the project’s reputation but also the broader movement for safeguarding in sport. To prevent such outcomes, the CRC Sport consortium has established clear ethical guidelines and accountability mechanisms. These include the adoption of codes of conduct, independent review of sensitive materials, and ongoing ethical training for all professionals involved. Ethical oversight is embedded within governance, ensuring that decisions are guided by values as well as objectives. In this way, CRC Sport maintains moral coherence and credibility, which are the most durable forms of resilience.

Adaptation is the thread that connects all aspects of CRC Sport’s risk management strategy. The project acknowledges that uncertainty cannot be eliminated but can be managed through learning and flexibility. This philosophy is reflected in the establishment of feedback mechanisms that allow for continuous monitoring and adjustment. Evaluation results, stakeholder feedback, and environmental scans are regularly reviewed to identify emerging risks and opportunities. The CRC Sport Network will institutionalise these adaptive processes through annual review meetings and scenario planning exercises. These forums will enable partners to anticipate changes in the external environment, such as technological innovations, demographic shifts, or policy developments, and to adjust their strategies accordingly. Adaptation thus becomes a core capability — a habit of mind and structure that keeps the project alive and responsive. One of the most significant risks to sustainability in any transnational initiative is the erosion of commitment over time. Projects often lose momentum once external funding ends and initial enthusiasm wanes. CRC Sport mitigates this risk through ownership and motivation. By building a strong sense of shared identity and purpose among partners, the project ensures that participation is driven not by obligation but by conviction. The CRC Sport brand functions as a unifying symbol of this collective commitment, representing professionalism, integrity, and care. Partners identify with the mission not because it is required but because it resonates with their values and aspirations. This intrinsic motivation is the most reliable guarantee of long-term engagement. The CRC Sport risk management framework is therefore not a static set of contingency plans but a living system of vigilance, reflection, and adaptation. It combines preventive measures with creative flexibility, ensuring that risks are not merely managed but transformed into opportunities for learning and growth. This approach aligns with the European Union’s broader understanding of resilience as the capacity to recover, adapt, and thrive amid change. CRC Sport exemplifies this concept in the realm of sport policy and governance, demonstrating that resilience is built not through rigidity but through openness, collaboration, and continuous renewal. Ultimately, the true test of sustainability lies not in the absence of risk but in the ability to navigate it with wisdom and integrity. CRC Sport’s adaptive strategies ensure that the project’s core mission — the protection and empowerment of children in sport — remains secure, regardless of external fluctuations. By embedding flexibility into its structures, ethics into its governance, and learning into its culture, CRC Sport has created a framework that is as durable as it is dynamic. Its capacity to evolve will allow it to remain relevant to future generations, proving that sustainability is not an endpoint but an ongoing journey toward excellence and responsibility in sport.

Chapter 11 – Conclusions and Future Outlook The CRC Sport project closes one chapter in the European journey toward safeguarding in sport while opening another — one that will unfold in the years to come as its principles, tools, and communities continue to grow and adapt. Sustainability, as envisioned in this Plan, is not merely about endurance; it is about legacy and renewal. CRC Sport was not conceived as a finite intervention but as a catalyst for long-term transformation. Its achievements are not endpoints but seeds planted in fertile ground, ready to take root in organisations, policies, and cultures across Europe. The project’s future outlook is therefore one of continuity through evolution, ensuring that its spirit and impact remain alive in a constantly changing world. At its core, CRC Sport demonstrates that safeguarding children in sport is not only a matter of compliance or protection but of empowerment and human dignity. The project has helped redefine the very meaning of sport — not as a space where performance alone matters, but as an environment where learning, fairness, and well-being coexist with ambition and achievement. Through its research, guidelines, training, and advocacy, CRC Sport has shown that sport can be both competitive and compassionate, both demanding and nurturing. This reframing represents perhaps the most profound and sustainable impact of the initiative: it shifts the moral centre of sport toward a vision of shared responsibility and care. As CRC Sport transitions from a funded project to a self-sustaining network, its challenge is to maintain momentum while embracing change. The Sustainability Plan provides the roadmap for this transition, ensuring that each output, partner, and structure finds its place within a coherent long-term system. The CRC Sport Network will serve as the institutional vehicle for this continuity — a living organism that connects research, practice, and policy at local, national, and European levels. The Network will not replicate the project’s activities mechanically but will evolve them, responding to new needs, technologies, and social realities. This capacity for adaptation is what will make CRC Sport’s legacy resilient and relevant over time. The future outlook of CRC Sport is therefore defined by its vision of integration. Safeguarding will continue to expand from a specialised concern into a mainstream dimension of sport governance, education, and community life. The project’s outputs — the Guidelines, Toolkit, Training Handbook, and Knowledge Repository — will remain as living resources, continually updated and reinterpreted. Universities and research institutions will deepen the evidence base, sport federations will embed safeguarding into their certification and evaluation systems, and local organisations will apply the CRC Sport approach in everyday practice. In this way, the project’s achievements will become part of the normal functioning of sport systems rather than exceptional efforts. One of the most promising aspects of the CRC Sport legacy lies in its potential to shape future policies. The project’s alignment with European and international frameworks ensures that its influence will extend beyond its original scope. The evidence gathered through its research, the methodologies developed in its training, and the policy recommendations formulated through its dialogues all provide valuable inputs for future EU Work Plans for Sport, Council of Europe initiatives, and national safeguarding strategies. By demonstrating the practical feasibility and social value of a child-rights-based approach, CRC Sport positions itself as a model for policy innovation and a reference for the European institutions in shaping the next generation of sport and child protection policies. The CRC Sport consortium also envisions expanding its collaboration beyond Europe. The values and methods developed within the project resonate with global challenges and opportunities. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises sport as a powerful enabler of peace, health, and education. CRC Sport contributes directly to these objectives and can serve as a model for international cooperation in safeguarding. Future partnerships with organisations in other regions of the world could promote exchange of experiences and mutual learning, enriching the global

discourse on children’s rights in sport. In this sense, the future outlook of CRC Sport is both European and international, grounded in shared values but open to global dialogue. Education remains a cornerstone of CRC Sport’s vision for the future. The project’s training legacy, both in its face-to-face and digital formats, will continue to evolve. The creation of a European Safeguarding in Sport Academy, envisioned as a hub for advanced training, research, and policy dialogue, will ensure that new generations of professionals are equipped with the skills and ethical awareness required to sustain the safeguarding movement. This academy will act as a space for crosssectoral collaboration, connecting sport professionals with experts in education, health, psychology, and law. It will embody the interdisciplinary spirit of CRC Sport, reinforcing its contribution to lifelong learning and professional development in Europe. The communication and advocacy dimension of the project will also play a decisive role in ensuring its future visibility and relevance. The CRC Sport brand has already established itself as a symbol of trust, quality, and inclusiveness. Its continuation through digital platforms, campaigns, and partnerships will keep safeguarding in the public consciousness. The project’s narrative — that sport can be a place of safety, respect, and empowerment for every child — will continue to inspire action and accountability. By sustaining this narrative through storytelling, events, and media engagement, the CRC Sport Network will ensure that safeguarding remains a visible and celebrated value in European sport culture. Another defining element of the project’s future outlook is its emphasis on innovation. The world of sport, like society at large, is undergoing rapid transformation through digitalisation, environmental change, and social evolution. New technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual training environments, and data analytics present both opportunities and risks for children’s rights. CRC Sport’s adaptive framework equips it to engage with these developments proactively. The project’s digital ethics principles will guide future explorations of technology in sport, ensuring that innovation serves human development rather than undermining it. Similarly, the growing concern for environmental sustainability offers new intersections between safeguarding and ecological responsibility — reminding us that the well-being of children is inseparable from the health of the planet they will inherit. The ethical foundation of CRC Sport will remain its compass through all future developments. As societal norms evolve and new challenges emerge, the project’s commitment to the dignity, autonomy, and participation of children will continue to provide moral direction. This ethical clarity is what gives the project its enduring relevance. Policies and practices may change, but the principles of respect, protection, and empowerment remain timeless. The CRC Sport legacy thus lies not only in its documents and structures but in the values it has nurtured — values that will guide decisions, inspire leaders, and shape institutions for years to come. Looking ahead, the project envisions deepening its engagement with local communities. While European policy frameworks provide structure and legitimacy, the true impact of safeguarding is felt in the relationships between children, coaches, and families. CRC Sport will continue to support grassroots initiatives, recognising that sustainable change begins at the community level. Pilot projects, local training programmes, and partnerships with schools and youth organisations will keep the CRC Sport approach grounded in everyday reality. This combination of top-down policy alignment and bottom-up participation will ensure that the project’s legacy remains both strategic and human. Sustainability also entails generational continuity. The CRC Sport Network will actively involve young people not only as beneficiaries but as co-creators of safeguarding culture. Youth advisory groups, participatory research, and peer-education programmes will ensure that the next generation takes ownership of the movement. This intergenerational transfer of knowledge and responsibility is the truest measure of success: when young people themselves become advocates for safeguarding, the mission has been fully internalised and will continue to thrive independently. In its conclusion, the CRC Sport Sustainability Plan reaffirms a simple yet profound truth: safeguarding is not a project; it is a promise. It is a promise that every child, regardless of background

or ability, has the right to experience sport as a space of joy, safety, and growth. It is a promise that institutions will act with integrity, professionals with empathy, and communities with solidarity. CRC Sport has transformed this promise into a framework — a set of principles, practices, and partnerships that make it achievable. Its legacy will endure not only in policies and organisations but in the everyday experiences of children who play, learn, and flourish under its protection. As the CRC Sport story continues, its strength will lie in its capacity to inspire others. The project has shown that cooperation, when guided by shared values and evidence-based methods, can achieve lasting impact. It has demonstrated that sport can be a force for justice, inclusion, and humanity. The future of CRC Sport is therefore not confined to a network or a plan; it lives in the people and institutions that carry forward its mission. In this sense, CRC Sport is both an accomplishment and a beginning — a foundation for a Europe where every sporting experience affirms the rights, dignity, and potential of every child.

University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Department of Human Sciences, Society and Health Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Simone Digennaro, s.digennaro@unicas.it Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.