Best Practices in Maltese Sport – A New Safeguarding Handbook for the Sporting Community

Best Practices in Maltese Sport — A New Safeguarding Handbook for the Sporting Community

The Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AiMS) has published a landmark safeguarding handbook titled Best Practices in Maltese Sport, designed to support sporting organisations in promoting safe, respectful, and inclusive environments for all participants.

What Is This Handbook?

Developed through extensive consultation with national governing bodies, coaches, athletes, parents, safeguarding professionals, legal experts, and public authorities, this handbook provides clear, practical Do’s and Don’ts across a wide range of sporting situations. It is intended for everyone involved in sport – athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, volunteers, and parents alike.

Key Areas Covered

Professional Boundaries – Maintaining appropriate relationships between those in positions of authority and participants, both in person and online.
Safe Environments & Supervision – Ensuring constant, diligent oversight with appropriate supervision ratios at all times.
Positive Guidance – Encouraging constructive feedback, good sportsmanship, and a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, abuse, and discrimination.
Online Communication & Safety – Guidance on appropriate digital communication between adults in positions of authority and young participants.
Photography & Media Use – Clear rules around consent, storage, and sharing of images involving children and young people.
Physical Contact & Personal Care – Defining what constitutes necessary, appropriate, and professional physical contact in a sporting context.
Travel, Changing Rooms & Overnight Stays – Practical safeguarding measures for away trips, transport, and shared facilities.
Reporting Concerns – A clear framework for recognising, recording, and escalating safeguarding issues without delay.

Why It Matters

As AiMS CEO Kevin Azzopardi emphasises in the foreword: safeguarding is not the responsibility of one individual or organisation – it is a shared responsibility. The handbook makes clear that safe sport must be embedded at every level, from grassroots participation to elite competition, ensuring the welfare of all participants remains at the centre of every decision.

This handbook is the first of its kind issued locally and will be reviewed periodically – no later than two years from its date of issue on the 30th of June 2025. Feedback can be submitted directly to AiMS at safeguarding@aims.org.mt.