PSV Academy receives first Dutch Safe Sport Climate label
The PSV Academy, a soccer school for young talented football players, hosted by Dutch football club PSV, is the first to receive the Safe Sport Climate label (Label Veilig Sportklimaat). With this a long-cherished wish of Toon Gerbrands (General Director of PSV, one of the top 3 football clubs in the Netherlands) has been fulfilled.
The Safe Sport Climate label, which was co-developed by Kiwa, offers sports clubs a powerful instrument to counteract transgressive behaviour within the club. The victims, usually vulnerable young children, often carry the consequences of structural cross-border behaviour of trainers and other supervisors with them for life. This makes transgressive behaviour in the sports world a difficult and still topical subject.
Independent assessment
Gerbrands pleaded earlier, during the Week of Child Abuse in 2020, for a systematic approach of transgressive behaviour in youth sports, linked to independent assessment. Kiwa developed a standard for this. Michael van der Vlies from Kiwa Netherlands says: “We contacted Toon Gerbrands that we wanted to use our knowledge of safety management for staff and clients in the care sector to help realise this label. Together with PSV, we developed a practical certification scheme and then we carried out a pilot at PSV and tested the scheme”.
The Royal Dutch Football Association, KNVB was asked for advice when compiling the label. Kiwa is in discussion with the KNVB about the results of the pilot. Together with the KNVB, we are looking at whether the label can be of added value for more clubs.
Example for other sports clubs
Having been awarded the Safe Sport Climate label, PSV is the first sports club to demonstrably have all the elements of a safety management system in place to guarantee psychosocial safety. Toon Gerbrands proudly tells: “As an internationally renowned football club, PSV wants to set an example for other sports clubs, not only in football but also in other branches of sport. The label is a guarantee for safe sports for everyone at every level. From amateur clubs to athletes at a professional level.
Read more about our service ‘Label Veilig Sociaal klimaat’ (in Dutch) on the Kiwa Netherlands website.
Photo: Michael van der Vlies (Kiwa) presented the Safe Sport Climate label to Toon Gerbrands (PSV) and Rick van Rooij (PSV).