Calls for every Scottish professional football club to offer psychological support for academy players

A University of Stirling lecturer has added his voice to calls for every professional football club in Scotland to have mandatory psychological support for their academy players.

With the season well underway, improved mental health support for released academy footballers is needed now more than ever before according to University of Stirling lecturer Dr Alban Dickson and the British Psychological Society.

Over 1.5m children in the UK play organised football, with around 10,000 in football academies but fewer than 200 will become professional players. In the worst-case scenario, young people are cut adrift and potentially turn to crime or self-harm.  

Now for the first time, the British Psychological Society (BPS) is calling for psychological support to be mandated across all academies of professional clubs in Scotland. 

The British Psychological Society is calling for:  

• The Scottish FA, Scottish Professional Football League and PFA Scotland to join forces and provide funding for psychologists for clubs outside of the SPFL so all academy footballers can get the support they need both during and after their academy contract.
• Clubs to grow their psychological workforce with the additional funding. This will then embed psychological support through an academy players career with the squad making them as resilient as possible.
• A mandated offer of aftercare to all academy footballers who are released. This could include an offer of three appointments with an HCPC-registered sports psychologist paid for by the club and free to the player.

Dr Alban Dickson, a lecturer in Sport Psychology at the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, and BPS Chartered member who has worked extensively in SPFL academies, said: “Enhancing the resilience of the players within the academy setup should be the number one aim.

“From the moment a contract is signed, it is imperative to work closely with the parents to set realistic goals from the outset, before later having conversations around career transitions. This proactive approach has proven effective in preparing players for life beyond the academy.  

“Embedding psychological best practices and teaching essential life skills is vital. Not only does this help shape well-rounded individuals, but they can also contribute directly to improved performances on the pitch.”

Dr Alban Dickson of the University of Stirling (credit: Craig Watson)

Dr Dickson and the British Psychological Society have teamed up with former Rangers and Aberdeen player Dominic Ball to raise awareness of the issues which face those released from academies in the worst-case scenario.

Ball, formerly of Watford’s academy, who is now a campaigner for improved mental health support for released academy footballers, said: “Football is a very difficult sport. It is of course very rewarding, but on the other side there are real lows as well.

“You might get injuries, you might be away from home, or training might not be going well. It can be very tough to deal with as a young player when you haven’t matured yet as a person. If you are between the ages of 15-19, to be told that you aren’t good enough to make the cut and your dream is over, it can be really traumatic.” 

With sustained investment into mental health, football clubs have the potential to support academy players after their release. One such club leading the way in this arena are Heart of Midlothian who embed psychological support throughout their academy.

Trauma

However Ball, who won the Scottish Championship title whilst on loan at Rangers from Tottenham Hotspur, stressed the need for greater aftercare within the sport for those who are released.

He continued: “I have some very close friends, who struggled in the first few years after they were released. One struggled to hold down a job in the first few years because the adjustment was just too difficult.

“Once you are let go, the clubs move on and although players have found something else that’s when the issues really start. It’s a traumatic thing to go through.

“You go from training and playing all the time, trying to pursue your dream of making it as a pro footballer, to suddenly being in a totally different sector. It’s hard to adjust psychologically.

“All clubs should really provide aftercare support for players until they are settled into their new way of life whatever that may be. They should have a duty of care.” 

Postcode lottery

Chair of the BPS’s Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology Stephen Smith said: “Many academy footballers have spent most of their young lives, putting in thousands of hours of training, chasing a dream only for it to be cut short when released from their contract.

“At worst, we’ve seen young people turn to crime, self-harm and suffer great psychological trauma. This must not be allowed to continue.  

“There’s a postcode lottery for support when academy footballers are released. Although Premier League clubs are known to work well in this area, support gets considerably patchier the further you move down the pyramid due to a lack of resources.

“Coordinated investment from the Scottish FA, SPFL and PFA Scotland would go a long way to helping lower league clubs grow their psychological workforce and give the players the support they need.”