PFA Reveal Increase in Footballers Seeking Mental Health Help

May 13, 2022 

Almost 2,500 professional football players in the UK have accepted the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) offer to provide mental health support since 2018. The news was revealed by the Daily Mail and confirmed by the PFA immediately before the UK's Mental Health Awareness Week which ends May 15. 

The PFA attributes the increase in young players seeking expert mental health help to “pandemic-related issues”. The players' union said the instances of players approaching their counseling team as victims of abuse were also increasing. 

The PFA offers players emotional support throughout their well-being department, which is run by Director of Player Welfare, Dr. Michael Bennett. His team visited clubs to conduct workshops on mental health and this season had visited 60 clubs, with a goal of 75 before the end of the season. So far this year, 307 players have chosen to access the PFA's emotional support network. The equivalent figure in 2021 was 528 players and in 2020 it was 508.

“The figures have emerged as British football authorities were preparing a report on the work being done to support the mental health of both those working in the industry and society more broadly,” said the Mail. 

The 2022 Mentally Healthy Football Declaration report, released last Sunday, outlines the strides taken by the football community since signing the declaration two years before. 

The report shows that over 10,000 people have been trained in mental health support, new regulations have been implemented and the “football family has reaffirmed its collective commitment to prioritizing mental health at every level of the game.” 

The collective committments made in the report include: 

• Lead from the top within our own organisations to help create a mentally healthy culture across the whole game.
• Make awareness-raising, training, education and guidance available to all clubs.
• Embed mental health within our existing policies and practices.
• Support clubs and organisations to grow a mentally healthy culture through the provision of guidance and resources.
• Work together through a UK-wide mental health implementation group for UK football

Bennett told the Mail that young players find it difficult to cope with the old-school, arguably abrasive approach of some coaches. In addition, he said the number of footballers seeking help was increasing because they must contend with a spike in online abuse. 

On the other hand, there have been strides in the mental health support and services provided to footballers. Launched in May 2019, Heads Up was a campaign run in partnership between The FA and The Royal Foundation's Heads Up campaign, designed to harness the influence and popularity of football to kick off a conversation about mental health among supporters, players, friends and families. 

“Following the success of the Heads Up campaign, I was pleased that two years ago football took on the ambition to build a mentally healthy environment across the whole of the game. Through their signing of the Mentally Healthy Football Declaration, clubs, leagues and footballing organizations across the UK committed to raising the importance of mental fitness for years to come,” shared The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. 

Source: Daily Mail