A CHILD safeguarding board is writing to sports clubs across the district, in the wake of the national scandal of sexual abuse in football.

A series of prominent footballers last year came forward to say they were sexually abused as young players, prompting a wave of allegations about abuse in the sport, with more than 150 potential suspects identified across the country so far.

Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, in collaboration with Bradford Council, is now contacting sports clubs with information and guidance on how to prevent child abuse in sport.

The letter also tells clubs that if they have any immediate concerns about the safety or welfare of a child they must contact the district’s safeguarding hub on 01274 437500, while if they have information on historical abuse, they should speak to the police.

David Niven, the independent chairman of Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said: “Sports clubs offer young people fantastic opportunities, but it’s important that clubs have the right procedures in place to make sure children are as safe as possible.

“I want to make sure that sports clubs in our district know where they can get the best advice and support so that they can be confident they have up-to-date and robust safeguarding procedures in place.”

Councillor Val Slater, deputy leader of Bradford Council and portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said: “We have some great sports clubs across the district, but the cases that have come to light nationally are a very timely reminder of how important it is that clubs have the right procedures in place and know where they can get the best advice if they have a concern.

“This letter is an important way of sharing best practice so that together we can make sure that children and young people are safe and that parents can have confidence when their child joins a sports club.

“Parents have a role to play too in asking the right questions to the club their child attends, such as how they recruit staff, what policies they have in place, and how staff are trained.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Slater has also backed an NSPCC campaign to close two loopholes that leave the door open for child abusers to target young people in sport and beyond.

The NSPCC says a law banning teachers, social workers and other professionals from having sexual relationships with 16 and 17-year-olds in their care should be extended to sports coaches.

It also wants all coaches to face mandatory checks to see if they are barred from working with children. Currently, this only applied to coaches working with children unsupervised.

Cllr Slater said both suggestions “sounded sensible”.

She said: “Paedophiles, by the nature of what they want to do, get themselves in positions where they can access children, so anything we can do to close loopholes and make it safer for children can only be to the good.”

Cllr Slater said many sports clubs already required all volunteers to have background checks.

She said while some people viewed it as unnecessary red tape, the vetting system was now no longer “as onerous as it was”.