Cambridge United are pleased to announce they have become the first football club in the country to formally sign up to the Football Safety App, the incident reporting platform backed by former England striker Emile Heskey.
The Football Safety App has been created to confront the escalating abuse crisis in football, online, in stadiums and beyond, giving fans, players and families a fast, anonymous way to report incidents as they happen.
The app will be in operation for the first time at Cambridge United’s home fixture on Tuesday 27 January against Shrewsbury Town. Supporters can download it now via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Emile Heskey said: “The response to the app since launch has been overwhelming, with huge interest from across the Premier League and EFL but talk alone isn’t enough.
“Cambridge United becoming the first club to formally sign up shows real leadership and a willingness to act. We can’t keep saying abuse is unacceptable and then doing nothing about it. This is how change starts, and I hope others now follow their lead.”
By signing up, the club and its supporters gain access to a real-time reporting system that allows incidents to be logged instantly from stadiums, concourses, pubs, public transport and across online platforms and social media.
Rich Cooksley, Head of Operations at Cambridge United, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Football Safety App to Cambridge United. This pioneering software will allow our supporters to have a simple and efficient way of reporting any incidents connected to our club, and we are confident it will become part and parcel of the supporter experience.”
Sarah King, Safeguarding Officer, added: “As the first club to sign up, we are proud to be leading the way in helping to make football safer and more enjoyable for everyone. Our goal is to ensure the reporting process is simple, accessible and effective, and this app makes that possible."
Heskey became involved with the Football Safety App after witnessing the rise of abuse in football and the increasing difficulty of escaping it. Having experienced racism during his own career, he believes abuse today is more constant and far-reaching due to social media and digital platforms.
As a father of sons in professional academies, Heskey is determined that the next generation does not grow up seeing this behaviour as normal. His involvement reflects a desire to turn concern into action and help protect players, officials, supporters and families across the game.
All reports made through the app are sent to a 24-hour control room, where verified cases are escalated to clubs, online platforms and the police where appropriate. The app applies to all forms of abuse and is free to download from your phone’s app store.
Users are automatically checked into fixtures and can access a range of rewards for engagement, while clubs benefit from anonymised data and insight that highlights patterns, hotspots and repeat issues.
Supporters should note that existing reporting platforms, including the Report an Incident page and Matchday Text Number, will continue to operate.
For further information, visit www.footballsafetyapp.com.
See it. Report it. End it.
