Safeguarding in sport has emerged as a critical priority for sport psychology practice, research, and policy. However, the development and implementation of safeguarding measures are significantly influenced by cultural contexts. Research highlighting issues of contextual fit when Western-born, rights-based safeguarding frameworks are applied across diverse geo-cultural logics and norms, and across sporting environments and levels. Despite growing policy attention and the expansion of safeguarding initiatives, systematic monitoring and evaluation remain underdeveloped in many settings, limiting the strength of the evidence base regarding implementation processes, long-term outcomes, and overall effectiveness (Chroni et al., 2026; Hartill & O’Gorman, 2014; Khomutova et al., 2025; MacPherson et al., 2022).
This special issue welcomes submissions that include but are not limited to following areas
- Culturally responsive safe sport and safeguarding complexities
- Athletes, coaches, parents, officials, and sport staff mental health and psychological safety within cultural sport systems
- Sporting practices and relational dynamics (e.g. athlete-parent, coach-athlete, coach-management relationships) in relation to safeguarding across cultural contexts
- Implementation of safeguarding policies in diverse organisational and national contexts
- Ethical practice, emotional intelligence, and professional judgement in safeguarding work
- Intersectionality (gender, age, disability, ethnicity, sexuality, socioeconomic factors) within cultural contexts
- Systemic and institutional structures shaping safeguarding in sport (governance and self regulation of sport organizations as a structural risk
- Mental performance consultant’s experience, well-being, and sustainability when navigating safeguarding work (e.g., emotional labor, moral distress, vicarious trauma, structural and relational support needs)
- Coach well-being and safeguarding (coaches as both potential risk agents and vulnerable individuals requiring care)
- Disclosure gap (e.g., barriers to reporting, institutional non-response, the space between disclosure and meaningful change)
Sport Contexts (including but not limited to the following contexts)
- Developmental and elite athlete pathways, professional sport
- Youth development and talent identification
- University and collegiate sport
- Recreational and community sport
- Para sport and disability contexts
- Developing sport programmes in under-resourced settings
- Athlete support networks (e.g., coaches, parents, athlete entourage, officials, leaders)
- Online/digital sport environments
- High-performance organisational systems
- Sport officiating environments
- Small and micro national Olympic Committees and federations
Manuscript Submissions Guidelines
Potential contributors should contact Guest Editor Anastasiya Khomutova (a.khomutova@brighton.ac.uk) with inquiries related to the content and scope of the special issue.
Guest Editors for the Special Issue
- Anastasiya Khomutova, University of Brighton
- Ani Chroni, University of Inland Norway/University of Thessaly
- Ale Quartiroli, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (USA) / University of Portsmouth (UK)
