The Snack Summit Rome, organised by SFS in collaboration with Deloitte Legal, was held at the Rome headquarters of Deloitte, entitled ‘Safeguarding: Policies and Fundamental Principles for the Prevention and Countering of Abuse, Violence and Discrimination in Football’.

The event, dedicated to the promotion of policies and fundamental principles to combat abuse, violence and discrimination in football, was attended by distinguished speakers and experts in the field.

The meeting was opened by the institutional greetings of Pierfilippo Capello of Deloitte Legal, who emphasised: ‘The sense of today’s meeting is to trace the “Deloitte way”, to identify the problems, find the solutions and carry them out’. Gianfilippo Valentini, Ceo of SFS, added: ‘I would like to thank Deloitte Legal and all the speakers present. This event marks the beginning of a journey on safeguarding that will culminate in the seventh edition of SFS, next 19 and 20 November at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome’.

The panels, which were moderated by Alessandro Pulcini of Fortune Italia, the first one entitled ‘Guidelines, Organisational Models and Codes of Conduct’, with Silvia Salis, Deputy Vice President of CONI, saying: ‘Awareness-raising work is needed in the sporting sphere. Words, ways and techniques of establishing social relations must change. Safeguarding aims to implement this change’. Domenico Costantino, lawyer and lecturer at the University of Bari, added: ‘Safeguarding is a forward-looking institute aimed at preventing misbehaviour’. Francesco Pastorella, from Rothschild Dynasty and former AS Roma, pointed out: ‘Female footballers and players have a responsibility towards minors, being seen as role models; clubs must promote positive initiatives together with them’. The speakers emphasised the importance of a cultural evolution and a social change of pace necessary to prevent and counteract the phenomena of abuse, violence and discrimination.

In the second panel, ‘Analysis and data on current phenomena and the opportunities to change “the rules of the game”’, Paolo Mormando, FIGC: ‘The work of the FIGC federal prosecutor’s office is fundamental in debunking some false stereotypes about behaviour in football. The data clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of our sanctions in countering these phenomena.’ Valeria Logrillo, Deloitte Legal: ‘The introduction of the organisational model for sports clubs represents a significant innovation. This approach helps to more effectively structure safeguarding policies within sports organisations.’ Andrea Catizone, lawyer: ‘it is crucial that sports clubs adopt organisational models that not only prevent abuse but actively promote a safe and respectful environment for all participants.’ Vito Di Gioia, FIGC: ‘the FIGC is committed to continuous training and the use of digital technologies to raise awareness and inform on all issues related to safeguarding. This approach is essential to create lasting change in football.’

The event provided an important opportunity to discuss and share good practices and strategies aimed at making football a safer and more inclusive environment. The speeches focused on how to implement effective guidelines, develop sound organisational models and adopt codes of conduct that can prevent and combat abuse and discrimination.

To review the Snack Summit Rome on our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/live/szCrdNq0-WE and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7201498208433238016