Emile Heskey calls on fans and players to download new app to ‘reclaim the beautiful game’

Emile Heskey calls on fans and players to download the new Football Safety App to ‘try and reclaim the beautiful game’.

The Football Safety App, the world’s first crowd space football abuse reporting app, empowers fans and clubs to clamp down on all forms of abuse, whether it happens in the stadium, on the way to the game or online, with real–time alerts and clear guidance on what crosses the line.

The app protects players and supporters alike by reinforcing the notion that passion and tribalism are welcome, but abusive behaviour is not, and it allows people to do their bit to bring an end to it.

Emile Heskey, its director, spoke more about it on Sky Sports News…

”It’s about taking football back for ourselves”

Emile Heskey on the The Football Safety App, a digital platform designed to combat all forms of abuse, to ensure football is a safe place for both men and women 🫶 pic.twitter.com/cXncoNjYk2

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 26, 2026

Interviewer: “During his career, he was subjected to racist abuse. He’s now helping develop the football safety app to ensure that it is a safer place for men and women within football. So let’s find out a bit more about this with Emile. Emile, a very good afternoon to you. Thank you so much for joining us.

“You’ve got two sons that play football. How important is it? How passionate are you about making football a safer place for everyone?”

Emile: “Very passionate. it’s obviously having kids within football, then you really start to look at things differently.

“But it goes back even further than that with friends who come to games and they don’t necessarily have the best experience while at games, so they tend to not want to go back. But again, this is about taking football back for ourselves.”

Interviewer: “Yeah, and it’s an app, for the fans, it’s also for the players as well. Is it something that you perhaps wish existed when you were playing?”

Emile: “Yeah, look, think something’s got to be a bit more visible and easy to use. And this is definitely that. It’s an app that you can report at the minute. It’s live at the minute and we’re getting reports.

“A lot of them is non-football, but from football fans, et cetera. Mainly on trains etc, so it’s a way of reporting when abuse is being hauled at you.”

Interviewer: “Yeah, because how important is it that players themselves feel supported when they are subjected to abuse?”

Emile: “Yeah, 100 % players want to feel supported, but it’s not just about the players. If you’re looking at the players’ family, you’re looking at all sorts of supporters.

“And this is one thing that we want. We want supporters to feel comfortable coming to football matches. I’ve worked within the women’s game for a while now, and you want supporters to feel comfortable, coming to the game, enjoying the game that we all love and having a good experience, that one bad experience then you don’t want them to be going away and not wanting to come back.”

Interviewer: “And obviously hope that the app will play a really important role in combating racist abuse. reporting isn’t it?”

Emile: “It’s reporting. So we’ve got this app here that you can report all sorts of abuse. I know we talk about racism but that’s not the only abuse that’s happening at football stadiums.

“We’ve combated that we’d have in this one place where you can report it and it goes to the relevant people instantly. It’s not something that you report two, three, four days later. No, this is something that you report now and we hope to have prosecutions as well.”

Interviewer: “Yeah, and how important a role do the clubs have to play in all of this as well?”

Emile: “I the clubs are very important because they’re the ones who have the funds coming in and they’re the ones who can make a standpoint.

“We’ve seen it time and time again where people are getting away with things. If we can make a standpoint where we’re not tolerating this, not just them, police are important as well. If we can have that standpoint, that’s very, very important.”

Interviewer: ” How can people download the app?”

Emile: “On the app stores. Very easy to download. The football safety app. Go on there and download it and log in.”

Real-Time Reporting. Real-World Impact

“Our platform empowers users to instantly report incidents, from racism and abuse to drug use or suspicious behaviour. We ensure that every concern is heard, logged, and actioned responsibly.”

Racism – Report any form of racial discrimination or hate experienced, seen or heard on or off the pitch.

Offensive Language – Flag abusive, threatening, or inappropriate language to maintain respect and fairness.

Physical Abuse – Instantly report incidents involving physical aggression or violence.

Online Hate Crime – Report digital harassment, hate speech, or abuse on social media/online platforms

Safety concern – Raise alerts about unsafe conditions, suspicious behaviour, or potential risks.

Travel abuse – Report harassment, intimidation, or disorderly behaviour on public or private transport.

Verbal Abuse – Report threatening, aggressive, or intimidating speech aimed at players, coaches, staff, or fans.

Bullying – Identify and report repeated or targeted intimidation, whether online or in person.

Harassment – Log incidents of unwanted attention, persistent intimidation, or coercive behaviour.

Drugs – Report any evidence or suspicion of drug use, possession, or dealing within football-related settings.

Suspicious Behaviour – Flag unusual or concerning actions that could indicate potential risks to safety, wellbeing, or security.

Drunk & Disorderly – Report individuals or groups acting aggressively or irresponsibly due to alcohol, ensuring swift intervention.