An English soccer club and a member of parliament (MP) have collaborated with a dozen doctors’ surgeries to introduce football as a treatment for mental health in part of the United Kingdom.
The initiative, which is called Football on Prescription, offers opportunities to play five-a-side or walking football for people over 50 with loneliness and mental illness issues, with the aim of reducing the need for medication. Walking football is a less competitive form of football that bans running and slide-tackling to make the sport more accessible.
Forest Green Rovers, who compete in the fifth tier of English football, are the club linked to the initiative and have also offered free match tickets to participants.
The pilot scheme is available to people who see their doctor about mental health in around 12 surgeries in the south west of England, where Forest Green are based.
Doctors and nurses will have the ability to “prescribe football if the patient and doctor feel it could help mental illness or feelings of isolation”, according to a release on Forest Green’s website. The scheme will collect data as it goes to assess its impact and could be expanded if results are positive.
“Research shows that physical activity improves mental and physical health,” said Dr Simon Opher, the local MP for Stroud who co-launched the initiative alongside Forest Green chairman Dale Vince. “We also know that social isolation plays a major role in poor mental health — and that community, connection, and shared experiences can help people feel less alone.
“This initiative brings those two ideas together. It’s a form of social prescription — with football as the medicine.”
In the most recent statistics from the National Health Service (NHS) in England, 2.1 million people were in contact with mental health services at the end of May, 1.39m of them with adult mental health services.
From the same report, the number of adults with severe mental health conditions accessing community mental health services were at the highest since the start of 2022, the start of the reporting period, with 671,098 recorded.
“It’s aimed at everyone struggling with their mental health, but especially men, who are statistically the hardest to reach,” Vince added. “The leading cause of death in men under 50 is now suicide — and loneliness is often a key factor.
“If a Saturday afternoon at a football match can help someone feel more connected and less alone, then that’s a powerful first step.”
(Photo of Forest Green players: Alex Burstow/Getty Images)
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