The LOPIVI from the touchline: what a grassroots football coach must know and do

The LOPIVI (Organic Law 8/2021) divides duties between individuals and sports organisations. A coach must report signs of violence and meet the certificate requirement; protocols and the protection officer are the club's responsibility.

Duty to report. Articles 15 and 16 require anyone who notices signs of violence against a child to report them immediately. If the facts could be a crime, notify the police, public prosecutor or court as well. Article 16 expressly includes qualified staff at sports and leisure centres.

Negative certificate. Article 57 requires anyone in regular contact with children to have no conviction for sexual offences or human trafficking. It applies to paid and voluntary work alike; contact must be repeated, direct and regular. See our guide to the sexual-offences certificate for football coaches.

The certificate only records convictions. A 2023 Save the Children report cited in the draft LOPIVI reform says 96% of sexual offenders had no prior conviction. That is why clubs also have protection duties. See the draft reform text.

The club's duties. Article 48.1 requires sports organisations that regularly work with children to apply protection protocols, monitor compliance and appoint a protection officer. They must also combat discrimination, encourage children's participation and improve communication with families. Article 47 extends protocols to sports centres, federations and municipal schools; the Sports Act (art. 7.1) reinforces the duty.

Coaches do not need a specific LOPIVI course. The law asks public administrations to promote specialist training (art. 5.1) and programmes to detect violence (art. 25.1). Clubs must also provide training on disability and inclusive sport (art. 48.2), but the law sets no hours or syllabus. Clubs and federations may set their own requirements. For qualifications, see how to become a grassroots coach.

The protection officer is the role the club appoints under article 48.1.c. Minors can go to them with their concerns, they spread and oversee the protocols and they start the relevant reports when violence is detected. The Madrid federation (RFFM) calls the role Delegado/a de Bienestar y Protección; the RFEF protocol calls it the protection officer.

Report a suspicion. The RFEF protection protocol asks coaches and technical staff to tell the coordinator or officer about any risk, suspected abuse or breach. The law says signs or indications; you do not need proof.

Your role is to prevent and report, not investigate. The RFEF protocol defines sports staff as prevention and reporting agents. The officer gathers available information for the authorities; neither they nor the person reporting must investigate or prove what happened.

The RFEF is encouraging clubs to appoint this role. Twenty-one regional federations took part in its Impulso Grassroots sessions on 10 and 11 February 2026. Luis de la Fuente called for children to be protected from inappropriate behaviour by peers, coaches and families. The RFEF brought its federation officers together again on 20 October 2026 to set the season's roadmap. Read the Impulso Grassroots report and the October training report.

No officer, same duty. If the club has not appointed anyone, the duty to report in articles 15 and 16 still applies: it does not depend on there being an officer.

At the start of the season, ask the club who the officer is and how to reach them. For the rest of the set-up there are the first-year coaching tips.

Two different levels. The law sets general duties (reporting, the certificate, protocols in the club) but does not detail how a coach should behave in the changing room or the car. Those rules come from federation protocols, which are binding only where the federation or the club imposes them.

Children's images. Article 7.3 of the Sports Act 39/2022 bans commercial use of a minor athlete's image without express consent from their parent or guardian. It also calls for special care with photos and videos shared online, on social media or in messaging, and for content with no sporting interest or against the child's interests to be avoided.

Good practice in the RFEF protocol. Its code of conduct, binding on RFEF staff and volunteers, asks them to report concerns about malpractice or abuse. It also advises against being alone with a child in a closed space without authorisation, driving them in a private car without parental permission (except in an emergency), taking photos in changing rooms or messaging children privately from personal accounts.

Changing rooms and communication. The RFEF protocol bans phones and recording devices in changing rooms and recommends two adults when a child is in a space that is not public or visible. It also advises communicating through families, including two adults in WhatsApp groups and avoiding private messages from personal accounts. See our guide to working with grassroots football parents.

RFFM protocol. The Madrid federation's protocol, dated 18 October 2023, states that its provisions are mandatory for clubs and entities linked to the RFFM. It also asks for a new certificate every 12 months of activity or on each joining, while admitting that current rules do not require renewal: it is an RFFM rule, not a legal one. Other federations and regions may have their own, and what counts is the one that applies to the club and its federation.

These steps combine the LOPIVI with RFEF, RFFM and Aragonese Youth Institute protocols. The order matters: protect the child first, then report and make a written record.

Listen without questioning. The Aragonese Youth Institute protocol advises recording what the child says without interviewing them: questions can harm a possible complaint. That does not mean withholding emotional support. Do not promise secrecy. Report the concern at once to the officer or, if there is none, the coordinator or manager. If safety is at risk, also notify social services and the police or prosecutor (art. 16.2). Record the child's words without interpretation and coordinate with the officer on informing the family, unless there are signs against them.

Phone numbers in the RFEF protocol: Guardia Civil, 062; Policía Nacional, 091; emergencies, 112; and the European child helpline, 116 111, free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The LOPIVI sets no fine for not having a protection officer. Article 48 imposes the duty but does not define a penalty or an amount. The fine ranges that circulate on some websites do not appear in the text of the LOPIVI.

Penalties depend on each autonomous community. Article 59.3 tasks the autonomous communities with setting, by a norm with the rank of law, the penalty regime for breaching the certificate requirement (art. 57.1). For other duties, such as appointing the officer, the LOPIVI gives no amounts: the regional rules and those of the federation should be checked.

The LISOS does contain a labour offence. The LOPIVI's twelfth final provision added paragraph 19 to article 8 of the Labour Infractions and Sanctions Act (very serious offences): breaching article 57.3, which bans companies and entities from employing in activities with minors anyone with a record in the Central Register of Sex Offenders and Human Trafficking. It affects the entity that gives the job.

The reform is not law yet. The Cabinet approved the draft at first reading on 5 May 2026. It would require annual sexual-offences and general criminal-record certificates for people working with children, and broaden the offences that bar that work. Until final approval, current article 57 applies. See the government announcement and the draft bill.