The Council of Europe’s Pool of International Experts on Safe Sport held its fifth annual meeting on 11 and 12 June 2026 in Strasbourg, under the Monaco Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
The meeting revolved around the preparation of the upcoming 19th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport, to be held in Monaco on 3-4 November 2026 under the pivotal theme “Safer and healthier sports environments for all children”. The experts also discussed the national implementation of the “Start to Talk” project in Cyprus, reviewed the newly updated training materials, and examined the Council of Europe’s new HELP course module on child safeguarding in sports, alongside a comprehensive research compilation on securing safe and healthy sport environments for all children.
The experts exchanged views on future priorities for protecting young athletes and providing them with access to safe and healthy environments. Discussions focused on establishing minimal safeguarding standards for children, standardising data collection to effectively measure risk, and deploying protection tools from grassroots to competition sports level.
A major highlight of the meeting was the integration of the youth perspective, building on the momentum of the “Youth Perspective for Safe and Healthy Sport” event which brought together 49 young people in Strasbourg on 26 May. During this plenary session, two youth delegates shared their experiences, ideas, and recommendations directly with the Pool members. This input will play a key role in the ongoing preparatory work and the development of the ministerial resolution.
The pool of experts paid tribute to Mathilde Grenet, who recently passed away and will forever be remembered as an exceptional and invaluable member.
As a unique multidisciplinary platform bringing together policymakers, researchers, practitioners and specialists, the Pool serves as an advisory hub and a unique network to follow up on the implementation of safeguarding policies and to combat all forms of violence against children in sport. Its work is paramount, providing the crucial mechanism needed to translate European safeguarding standards into concrete protection on the ground.
