How football’s attitude to mental health is changing

Brought to you by Time to Change

Football is not traditionally a sport associated with empathy and openness

Sport by its very nature requires selfishness and a ruthless will to win. Top athletes compete in the knowledge that if they are to triumph, someone else must fail. This desperation by players to come out on top, combined with the societal pressure that "real men" should be tough and handle their issues by themselves, means that football has previously proved unwelcoming to discussions around mental health. The world of football is obsessed with confidence - of appearing to be at your best even when you're not - it is something the best teams have and can spur players to success, but it can also create an atmosphere where not appearing outwardly "up for it" can be seen as weakness. Increasingly, though, players are opening up about the need for this culture to change. In a recent interview, 27-year-old Burton Albion striker Marvin Sordell explained the problems players face in admitting they require help with their mental health, he also called for teams to employ counsellors to manage player's emotional state. Tottenham player and England international Danny Rose also became one of the first players to publically discuss their mental struggles in a pre-World Cup interview, revealing that he had been diagnosed with depression. This development is something which delights Tim Stoodley, the founder of an organisation known as Mind Kicks, which uses the game's high profile and the figures within it to get people - and particularly men - talking about their mental health as freely and comfortably as they would a broken leg, or a common cold. Seeing football's capacity to get men talking, Stoodley - who himself has experienced mental health issues, including bipolar affective disorder and borderline personality disorder - wants to change the way football fans think and deal with mental health. "Ultimately the way that we work is that we try to use the celebrity status of footballers and football clubs to try and make fans realise that these people that they look up to are human and they too suffer with mental ill health, and that's okay if they do too. The clubs have a massive reach and with their brands, we get the message out there," Stoodley tells JOE. Mind Kicks has a variety of initiatives which it issues to spread the word and get people actively discussing their mental health, including handing out fliers and leaflets at games, and getting featured in clubs' programme notes for games. All of this, Stoodley says, is an example of how slowly stigma and barriers which currently prevent people from opening up are being broken down. "For us, it's trying to get that conversation created. We're more focused on signposting and taking away that stigma. Even in the last 24 months there's been a huge shift, but there's still a lot of work to do," he adds. "If someone on the terrace broke their leg, everyone would know what to say and what they could do to help, but if it's mental health just don't know what to say. That's what we want to work on changing." But while improvements are taking place in the conversation, there remains some opposition, such as fans saying "what a waste of time" after being handed a leaflet. "That proves that there is a need for us to be there in the first place," he says. "You meet the resistance from the stigma that still surrounds it, and some clubs are quite close-minded to what we do. "We do find it frustrating but we're making strides with that. We have been really lucky in the clubs that we have worked with. But we want to chip away and kind of get as many on as we can because, ultimately, we want to reach as many fans as we can." This sort of work exemplifies the fact that football is slowly but surely changing its attitude to mental health. Ahead of the current season, the English Football League announced that it had reached a two-year agreement with mental health charity Mind which has seen the charity's signature squiggle become a part of player names on the back of EFL jerseys. The Professional Footballers Association too is making strides in this area and has set up a 24 hour helpline for pros who need to talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXc36KZHFds Another organisation which is doing work in a similar field, but in a slightly different way, is the Wrexham Inclusion Football Club. Launched in 2011, the organisation helps upwards of 70 people per week and more than 100 service users every month, including those struggling with mental health issues, as well as - among other issues - disabilities, substance misuse, anger management and social isolation. Accepting self-referrals (i.e. those who feel they need help or have been advised to get help by friends or family) among those with mental health problems, the football club participants assistance in a number of key areas which could aid them. All potential avenues of assistance are offered to those who feel they might benefit from it, says Wayne Greenshields, general manager of the club who joined forces with founder Russel Jones after both realised that their respective work in mental health and disabilities could reach a wider range of people if it came together. "Not everybody needs them or wants them - so people access what is applicable for them," Greenshields told JOE of the initiative which has also sent two of its mental health teams to compete in tournaments in Munich, Germany in the last two years. Aside from helping people grow and understand their issues through playing football, players from Wrexham Inclusion FC can also graduate to become coaches for the side, and indeed each of its 15 coaches have come through the system as players at some point. This level of development, as well as the 80 percent of participants in 2018 who have gone on to volunteer and help others struggling with similar problems, convinces Greenshields and others at the club that what they are doing is right, and that football is the right way to do it. "The club changes lives each and everyday by offering people a platform to gain knowledge and understand about themselves whilst learning how to grow and develop their life skills and confidence. Football is our mechanism and our tool for motivation, success breeds itself due to the players hard work commitment and willingness to adapt, change and learn." WIFC has done admirable work throughout the years in helping people, and Mind Kicks also has plans to branch out and help people in a more hands-on fashion by launching a text line - which can be accessed by fans and provide them with someone to talk to about how they feel. "Away from needing to use clubs and players, we're looking to implement it. It will be a text line that people can text, and it's something we've been keen to get out there as soon as possible," he says. "When people reach that crisis point there are outlets like Samaritans - which is great but it requires people to speak on the phone, and a lot of people and men, in particular, do not want to speak to someone on the phone - so we've thought 'let's do a text line'. In an ideal world, we'll get it in every match day programme." As a group created by football fans for football fans, the organisation is doing all it can to point people in the right direction to help themselves address their problems, Mind Kicks is often a referral option for fans. And those who have got in touch with them have proven how vital, necessary and life-changing the impact can be. "We're grinding away but it's difficult to know if we've made a difference," Stoodley says. "We had one fan who bought a match day programme, came across our literature and thought 'hold on, I relate to a couple of them points', went to his GP and is now getting the support that he needs. We know that getting that conversation out there will ultimately help people. It has to, there are no negatives in getting people talking."

For more information about mental health campaign Time to Change, visit their website.