European Sport Safeguarding Education and Promotion Action (ESSEPA)
The ESSEPA project (European Sport Safeguarding Education and Promotion Action) is a recent Erasmus+ Sport cooperation partnership coordinated by the EUSA Institute under the framework of the European University Sports Association.
Launched in January 2026, the 24-month project brings together a consortium of 10 partner organisations from across Europe, led by EUSA Institute, and includes the University of Zagreb, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Hamburg, the European Fair Play Movement, CUS Salerno, Dspot, the Albanian University Sport Federation, the Portuguese University Sport Federation, and the University Sport Association of Liechtenstein.
The project focuses on safeguarding in university sport, aiming to protect athletes and participants from harm, including abuse, harassment, and unsafe environments. Its central goals are to strengthen safeguarding systems in university sport, provide education and training for stakeholders such as athletes, coaches, and organisers, and increase awareness and prevention practices across Europe.
A key output of ESSEPA is the development of an online education and certification platform that includes structured learning modules targeting different groups within university sport. The platform is designed to standardise safeguarding knowledge and practices and combines research and analysis, technical platform development, and educational content creation.
Over the course of the project, partners will conduct research on safeguarding and athlete welfare, develop educational modules and training materials, organise knowledge exchange activities and seminars, promote good practices and awareness campaigns, and build on previous EU projects such as safe sport and anti-violence initiatives. The multidisciplinary consortium ensures a combination of academic input in research, psychology, and education, practical sport governance experience, and policy and ethics expertise.
Strategically, ESSEPA aligns with EUSA’s broader mission to develop education and policy in university sport, promote safe and inclusive sporting environments, and expand EU-funded project activity. The project specifically strengthens EUSA’s position in safeguarding athlete welfare, digital education tools, and pan-European collaboration in sport governance.
The project was officially launched with a kick-off meeting in Ljubljana in January 2026, where partners aligned on work packages, deliverables, timelines, and a shared safeguarding framework. In practical terms, ESSEPA is expected to provide accessible certified training on safeguarding, clearer guidelines for event organisers, improved protection mechanisms for student-athletes, and greater institutional awareness and accountability in university sport.
The meeting opened with presentations outlining each partner’s field of activity, followed by an overview of the project’s phases, planned activities, and expected outcomes. Over the course of 24 months, partners will work collaboratively to deliver high-quality knowledge and raise awareness of safeguarding issues in university sport events and beyond, through educational modules hosted on an online platform. This work will combine analytical research and technical development and will be coordinated by EUSA throughout the project timeline.
For more information, please see https://essepa.eusa.eu/