• Men’s first team
  • Women’s first team
  • Post-16 academy
  • Disability section (Raiders)
  • Walking Football section
  • Women and girls’ section (girls’ teams from under-8s to development squad)
  • Youth section (boys’ teams from under-7s to under-23s)
  • Coaching section (player development centres and soccer schools)

Football that’s safe, positive, enjoyable

As a club, we support The Football Association in making sure the game is a safe, positive and enjoyable experience for children, young people and adults who regularly play, watch, coach, referee and volunteer.

There is a united approach to safeguarding across the game, driven by a clear three-part strategy:

  • Implementing preventative safeguarding measures (such as safer recruitment) to create fun, safe football environments;
  • Making the reporting of concerns as easy as possible;
  • Ensuring safeguarding, child protection and adult at risk concerns are investigated swiftly and thoroughly in conjunction with statutory agencies – and with demonstrable outcomes.

How to report

Our club welfare officers are here to help and support and are your first port of call for reporting any concerns. You can email or speak to them in confidence:

Maidstone United Football Club

Welfare Officer: Clare Taylor
Contact number: 01622 753817 / 07890 986676
Email address: mufcglwelfare@gmail.com

The club welfare officers are supported by and answerable to:

Kent FA Safeguarding Team

County FA Designated Safeguarding Officer: Lucy Kidd
Contact number: 01622 791850
Email address: safeguarding@kentfa.com

Football Association Safeguarding Team

Contact number: 0800 169 1863
Email address: safeguarding@theFA.com

The National League

National League Designated Safeguarding Officer: Martyn Cannon
Contact number: 0121 7142207
Email: safeguarding@thenationalleague.org.uk

Library (A to Z)

Please see codes of conduct and policies that support our day-to-day work:

Where else can I get help and support?

There are several relevant organisations working in the field of safeguarding.

Each offers specialist services to defined groups of people.

ACT: Ann Craft Trust

The Ann Craft Trust helps keep people safe from abuse.

As a leading authority in safeguarding adults and young people at risk, the Trust wants to help create a world where people live safely, free from the risk of abuse.

Through pioneering training, practice reviews and contributing to world-leading research, the Trust supports organisations to safeguard adults and young people at risk and minimise the risk of harm.

The Trust’s work is dedicated to key issues affecting adults and young people at risk including forced marriage, financial abuse, sexual exploitation and disability hate crime.

You can find out more about the Ann Craft Trust at https://www.anncrafttrust.org/ or for advice, call 0115 951 5400.

The Child Protection in Sport Unit

The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) is a partnership between the NSPCC, Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Wales. (In Scotland, there’s a similar partnership between Children 1st and Sport Scotland.)

The Unit was founded in 2001 to work with UK Sports Councils, National Governing Bodies (NGBs), County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) and other organisations to help them minimise the risk of child abuse during sporting activities. Its mission is to build the capacity of sports to safeguard children and young people in and through sport and to enable sports organisations to lead the way in keeping children safe from harm.

For more information on the CPSU you can find resources, webinars and other information at thecpsu.org.uk or contact CPSU at cpsu@nspcc.org.uk

Childline

Childline is a free and confidential service where you can be you. It exists to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. Whether it’s something big or small, their trained counsellors are there to support.

Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. You can talk to Childline on the phone, by email or through 1-2-1 counsellor chat. Whatever feels best for you.

Childline can help with anything – from abuse and bullying to exam stress and relationships;
Call Childline on 0800 1111 or go to the childline.org.uk for advice and support.

CEOP – part of the National Crime Agency

CEOP Education

The National Crime Agency’s CEOP Education team (NCA-CEOP) aims to protect children and young people from the threat of online child sexual abuse.

They do this through the CEOP Education programme which provides training, resources and information for young people, their families and professionals who work with them. Visit www.ceopeducation.co.uk

The CEOP Education programme aims to:

Increase professionals knowledge of online child sexual abuse and how to respond to it – through education and safeguarding.
Increase children’s knowledge, skills and resilience, making them safer online and ensuring they know how to seek help when they need it.
Give parents and carers the knowledge and skills to help their children be safer online and know how to seek help when they need it.

How to report to CEOP

Simply go to the CEOP Safety Centre then click on the yellow button. You’ll be asked a number of questions such as what happened, who did it happen to, what do you know about the suspected offender, as well as your name and contact details.

Don’t worry if you don’t know all the details about what happened, just fill in the form as fully as you can. Once you’ve made your report, it will be reviewed by a Child Protection Advisor.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the leading charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK and Channel Islands.

Alongside The FA’s own procedures for responding to, and reporting concerns about a child, the FA promotes the use of the NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000.

The NSPCC Helpline is staffed by trained professionals who can provide expert advice and support.

They’re here if you’re concerned about a child, if you’re a parent or carer looking for advice, or if you’re a professional in need of information and guidance.

The NSPCC also operates a football-specific helpline:

The FA Sexual Abuse in Football Helpline:

Tel: 0800 023 2642 (Monday to Friday: 8am-8pm; weekends: 9am-6pm).

Adults can contact by phone or by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk to get advice or share their concerns about a child, anonymously if they wish. You can email anytime, but please note emails are triaged Monday to Friday: 7:30am- 9pm and at weekends: 7:30am-6pm.

  • If you think a child is at immediate risk of harm, please call the police on 999.

Sporting Chance

Inspired by his own recovery from alcoholism and founded in the year 2000, Sporting Chance is the brainchild of former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams, MBE.

Based on his experience, and what he felt was lacking, Tony saw the need for a safe, dedicated environment where current and former sportsmen and women could receive support and counselling for the kinds of destructive behaviour patterns that exist in the world of competitive sport, but that are often denied.

Sporting Chance has since developed into one of the world’s most innovative centres for the treatment of behavioural problems among professional and former professional sportspeople.

Sporting Chance can be contacted on 0870 220 0714 or via https://www.sportingchanceclinic.com/

The Mix

The Mix is a leading support service for young people.

They exist to help young people face any challenge they’re facing – from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from breaks-ups to drugs.

You can contact The Mix via their online community, on social media, and through their free confidential helpline: 0808 808 4994.

A counselling service is also offered. Details on all The Mix’s services can be found on their website here.

Updated: 14 March 2025
Review: 1 May 2025