Rochdale AFC to provide 'ground-breaking' 24/7 safeguarding app

Rochdale AFC are the first professional football club to sign up to a new safeguarding app Credit: Rochdale AFC

Players, coaches and staff from Rochdale AFC will be able to report issues such as bullying, harassment and racism 24/7, as the team becomes the first professional club to sign up to a new safeguarding app.

The innovative online platform gives the whole club direct and confidential access to the welfare team wherever they are around the clock.

Any concerns or issues can be reported directly to the club's safeguarding Officers, Russ Green and Alistair Linden, via an app on their mobile phone.

The app will firstly be rolled out to youngsters playing in the club’s Academy, before being introduced across the Dale in the Community Trust and then rest of the club.

Rochdale AFC Chief Executive Russ Green said:

Tootoot's Chairman is the former Oldham and Great Britain Rugby League player, Terry Flanagan.

He said:

The app, Tootoot Sport, provides three key functions: a confidential online reporting tool, a single case-management function and an insightful dashboard that gives an up to the minute view of what is going on in the club.

The company also have an Education app, Tootoot Education, used by 500 schools across the UK.

It provides 250,000 school pupils access to a safe way to report bullying and harassment in their first year, and has been awarded funding by the Department for Education to provide a further 120,000 students with access to the platform.