PFA staff joined over 120 sports organisations at a SportMinds event yesterday aimed at sharing ideas about how sport and recreation can contribute to good mental health.
The Sport Minds conference, hosted by The FA at Wembley and sponsored by LPP Consulting, has been organised by a coalition of organisations led by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the Professional Players Federation and Mind.
Leading practitioners from the worlds of sport and mental health including PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor, offered delegates practical help and advice. Speakers included:
- Clarke Carlisle, former PFA Chairman
- Andy Baddeley, two‐time Olympian and Britain’s top 1,500m runner
- Conor Cusack, sportsman and mental health advocate
- Dr Kitrina Douglas, Research Fellow at Leeds Beckett University and former professional golfer
- Karen Mellanby, Director of Networks and Communities, Mind
- Gordon Taylor OBE, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers Association
Emma Boggis, Sport and Recreation Alliance CEO believes that the conference will spark a wave of activity across the sector: “The aim of the Charter is to bring about a culture change around sport and mental health, by encouraging and enabling people to talk openly about their issues and to seek the help they need. We want people to know and understand that the sport and recreation sector is a positive place for conversations about mental health.”
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of mental health charity Mind added: “As more of our sporting heroes talk about their own mental health it’s clear that governing and representative bodies can play a major role – in making sport more accessible to those with mental health problems and also encouraging people to have that first conversation about how they are feeling.”
To find out more about the Mental Health Charter, click here
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