Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults 

Northern Region Football and New Zealand Football (NZF) are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable football environment for all.

We recognise our responsibility to lead and encourage safe practices to ensure the welfare and best interests of children and vulnerable adults. 

To support you in this commitment, we’ve developed the Guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults and the supporting NZF Police Vetting System.​​​​​​​


Get safeguarding resources 

If you are an individual (coach or volunteer), or a club looking for more information on the vetting process, take a look below and visit NZF's safeguarding homepage

​​​​​​​View our Guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults and our Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy

Download the safeguarding policy template

Use our free police vetting process for all coaches and club volunteers.



Get safeguarding training 

FIFA safeguarding training 

Sport NZ safeguarding training 


Get safeguarding help 

Oranga Tamariki: 0508 326 459 

Northern Region Football safeguarding officer: Carl Fenton, carl.fenton@nrf.org.nz, 027 2275 111

NZF GUIDELINES FOR SAFEGUARDING

The Guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults outline the steps that can be taken to safeguard children, vulnerable adults and those who work with them.

They cover protocols for working with children and vulnerable adults, safety checking, the process for arranging police vetting, dealing with the results and what to do if abuse is suspected.

​​​​​​​New Zealand Football strongly encourages all federations, clubs and football service providers to implement these guidelines to ensure the welfare and best interests of children and vulnerable adults. 

For the purpose of these guidelines, a child is aged under 18 years, and a vulnerable adult has a mental or physical impairment that means they need constant care from another person.

Refer to the NZF Guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults for further information on our protocols or click the video to the right to learn more.

Information and resources

Coaches and volunteers

Clubs and safeguarding officers

Register as a safeguarding officer

Download NZF guidelines