A literature review exploring the mental health issues in academy football players following career termination due to deselection or injury and how counselling could support future players

Abstract

Many football clubs have no real strategies to help deselected players back into normal society, and they go through a certain amount of trauma (Green, 2009).In 2012, the Professional Football Association (PFA) launched their first well-being department. Since then, mental health issues in professional and ex-professional players have been well researched and documented, but very few researchers have explored the mental health issues affecting young, deselected football players.

“From everything to nothing in a split second”: Elite youth players' experiences of release from professional football academies

“…All released players that are members of the PFA could be scheduled in for an initial counseling session with the PFA's counseling network by their clubs, which the players could continue with if they feel it is beneficial. This supports a recent review calling for clubs to offer released players counseling during the transition away from the club and beyond (Wilkinson, 2021).…”

“…Players reported receiving limited aftercare from their professional clubs following their release, leaving them feeling hurt, angry and with a sense of betrayal. The lack of aftercare provided by clubs contributed to the problematic transitions experienced by the players, which is supported by previous research (Brown and Potrac, 2009;Wilkinson, 2021). It is important to note, despite the perceived lack of support the players were provided by their clubs, Keith commented on the reluctance players might feel in reaching out to a club they were released by for support.…”

“…A recent review of talent development in football highlighted players who were unsuccessful in their attempts to become professional footballers are underrepresented in the literature (Gledhill et al, 2017). Therefore, it is vital that the understanding of players' perspectives and experiences of release, which remain largely unexplored, are enhanced further (Wilkinson, 2021). Previous research suggests that released elite youth footballers may encounter psychosocial problems (Brown and Potrac, 2009;Blakelock et al, 2016Blakelock et al, , 2019, but it is unclear how they cope with the long-term effects of their release, or how they view their experiences of being released.…”

Treating mental stress in elite footballers using a stigma-free psychological approach: the Power Threat Meaning Framework

“…Players also fear that admitting they have mental health difficulties will have a negative impact on their team selection, market value and possibly their standing among their fans. Since mental health problems are not openly discussed, many footballers and support staff at clubs are unable to recognise players' mental health difficulties, and their problems may begin to manifest themselves as either low motivation, perceived as lethargy, or in the form of chronic physical ailments (Wilkinson 2021).…”

International society of sport psychology position stand: mental health through occupational health and safety in high performance sport

“…How life skills and psychosocial development initiatives become formal elements of an occupational health and safety programme in youth sport is particularly pertinent for the potential mental health and identity challenges that a young person may face if their transition to professional sport is unsuccessful (see Blakelock et al, 2016;Wilkinson, 2020). The predominant challenge for a youth sport organization is how they integrate an emphasis on young athletes' personal development within a more performance-oriented culture (see Camiré, 2015;Harwood, 2008), not only to mitigate risk of poor psychosocial and identity enrichment, but also to facilitate athletic development as a by-product.…”