The impact of Covid-19 on the mental health of professional footballers

Souter, G; Tonge, A; Culvin, A

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had huge ramifications on professional football. This commentary focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of professional footballers. Specifically, footballers within the English Premier League, English Football League, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship. This commentary considers a holistic approach to mental health, the environment of professional football, and the impact of career transitions and critical moments on mental health. The intention is to stimulate discussion and further research of mental health and wellbeing within professional football. This paper considers the impact of Covid-19 and makes recommendations for professional football clubs to develop a holistic mental health strategy. We recommend that professional clubs increase the level of emotional support for professional footballers, and that this should not be a temporary measure due to the pandemic. Clubs should develop a long-term strategy to encourage players to seek emotional support.

Citation

Souter, G., Tonge, A., & Culvin, A. (2022). The impact of Covid-19 on the mental health of professional footballers. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1-2), 162-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2021.1877569

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 14, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 25, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2022
• Deposit Date: Feb 3, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 25, 2022
• Journal: Managing Sport and Leisure
• Print ISSN: 2375-0472
• Electronic ISSN: 2375-0480
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 162-165
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2021.1877569
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2021.1877569
• Related Public URLs: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rmle21/current
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications Router **Journal IDs: pissn 2375-0472; eissn 2375-0480 **History: issued 25-01-2021; published_online 25-01-2021; Access Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Managing Sport and Leisure on 25th January 2021, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/23750472.2021.1877569.