Football and self-worth

With excitement brewing over the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, I wanted to reach out to acknowledge and celebrate this year's England team and to wish them the very best for the tournament. Football, as many will know, is 'the beautiful game'. It is not just something to commit to, it's something to belong to. It brings people together, provides excellent entertainment and for a sub-set of extremely talented (and let's face it… lucky) few, provides a fulfilling career and an extremely rewarding lifestyle. That being the case, I also wanted to spend some time talking about players in academies who work tirelessly to achieve their dreams.

Sport and Exercise Psychologists are found in every elite football club. More frequently now, we are brought into academies because there is growing appreciation of the need to develop psychological skills in athletes from a young age. From a performance perspective, we work to develop psychological skills such as motivation, concentration, resilience, and confidence. We also help players manage high-pressure environments and cope with associated anxiety. From a wellbeing perspective, we counsel players and help them cope with the inevitable difficulties that come from being involved in professional football. These difficulties can include injury, social media, bullying, racism and dealing with disappointed/aggressive fans. We work with people on a 1:1 basis, or by running group workshops.

The footballers we work with come from a variety of backgrounds. That said, a large majority of academy footballers tend to come from working class backgrounds in the UK, or even poverty-stricken backgrounds coming from abroad. To these players in the academy, making it as a professional footballer is everything. They possess a vision of playing as a professional footballer, wholeheartedly believing their talent and hard work will see them through. It is impressive and inspirational. In my conversations with them, any mention of a life outside of football is not to be entertained. I have been told "plan B distracts from plan A", or "it is not an option Shaween – I will be professional like my friends". They want to make it; to them they must make it. Often, they are driven by a desire to achieve success (or indeed, avoid failure), to provide a certain lifestyle for their family and friends who have supported them so much, and of course, for themselves.

When the young players are placed in a new team dynamic, it can of course feel awkward in the beginning. They don't know anyone else and don't know their place. However, players seem to thrive as soon as they get onto the pitch – I have often been told this is where they feel they can express themselves the most, and it is clear once you watch them. They come alive, communicating with other, moving for each other, and the resulting increase in energy is impossible not to notice. On the pitch, of course, they are pitted against one another, fighting for their place, and must work hard to demonstrate their abilities. But you also see something beautiful. The players gel quickly, and often for the long-term. They form real and very meaningful relationships – football is a team sport, and they recognise that success for them will be much easier to achieve if the team they are in succeeds. They applaud each other's successes, and console each other when needed. They also often stay in touch if/when they part ways and continue to champion each other. This may be in part because they understand each other in a way that other people outside of football can't.

Many academy footballers completely dedicate themselves to their careers. This means that they adhere to strict training and diet routines, prioritising sleep for rest and recovery. It is not just about what they actively do – it is just as much about what they don't do. Most of the footballers that I have worked with do not smoke, drink alcohol, they avoid caffeine and they do not socialise into the early hours. At academy age, this means that they often live very different lives to their friends outside football, who are likely living more relaxed lifestyles and who are at an age where they can enjoy things that we would consider to be a 'normal' lifestyle. Academy footballers understand the commitment that a top-level footballing career necessitates.

Managers and coaches can also be a source of support for players who, when it goes right, often see them as father-figures – someone to learn from and look up to professionally and personally. In my experience, players understand that there are different coaching styles – some more direct than others. Regardless, players are always keen to build a rapport with their coach and are receptive and willing to learn. They tend to adopt a resilient approach when day-to-day disagreements occur, maintaining an awareness that football is a game of opinions. It should be mentioned that players also get support from other professionals such as physiotherapists, strength and conditioning coaches, sport therapists, and analysts. They naturally form connections with all staff members and quickly feel a sense of belonging. Because all staff interact regularly with players, we often do psychological skills training with them. The idea is to create a psychologically aware culture. Additionally, because these staff members are often trusted by players, they may also be in a stronger position to advocate the need for sport psychology (in cases where there is resistance) or even disseminate some psychological information. 

I want to remind readers that, whilst academy players are part of their academies, they are generally well looked after. However, football in the UK is a saturated market. Quite apart from the fact that, as the national sport, millions of people play the game generally, approximately 11,000 players are released from academies each year. Players are seemingly only valued when they are performing consistently well. If their performance drops (for whatever reason), so they are dropped.

I recently had the pleasure of working with some incredibly talented young men who had each been released from their clubs. The reasons for being released varied for many of them: from illness/injury, to age, or simply to a loss of form. In some cases, there was no reason given at all. The 'lucky' ones were called into a meeting where they were told they were being released. Others simply received a phone call or an email. Having spent time with these players, and having experienced their kindness and wisdom first-hand, I felt compelled to write this piece in the hopes of raising awareness about the experiences that many academy footballers face generally.

The idea that football is something to belong to is evidenced by the resulting issues that many experience if/when they are released. They experience complete identity crises because the world of football that they have known from, in some cases, as young as 6 is taken away, with no recognition of the sacrifice taken to get there. This can also cause other mental health issues – depression, anxiety, anger, and even in extreme cases suicidal ideation. Many athletes have spoken out about adjusting to a life outside of sport (this is also commonly seen when athletes retire). Some felt they couldn't talk and have sadly taken steps to end their lives. Moreover, the psychological support that is offered to players when they are part of the academy is not always guaranteed when they are released. In some cases, no support is offered when players are released. Contact with the club is cut and support withdrawn. In other cases, players are offered support, but the psychologist they had built a rapport with is no longer available to see, or the way additional/alternative support is offered is throwaway and is never followed up.

At the end of the day, we are talking about people and not just players. Someone's son, brother, partner, friend. Football is part of their life, but it is not their whole life. The culture within men's football needs to shift to reflect that understanding. There needs to be a greater stress on education to equip those who are released from football to go on and have fulfilling careers away from football. There also needs to be greater awareness of the challenges that players face within football and greater support still for those who are released. All academy footballers should have access to psychological support throughout their careers, and this support should continue if/when they are released from their clubs. They need to be given the space to talk, and their wellbeing needs to be protected. And this must be remembered for the women's game too, which is ever-growing.

Psychologists will work with athletes to help improve performance. Performance enhancing techniques such as visualisation and breathing are well recognised in the sporting world. Perhaps less well known is the work we do to try and develop people (rather than just players). Sadly, systemic issues within football can mean that players learn that they are only valuable when they are succeeding in football. In other words, they attach their self-worth onto their footballing successes. This can provide a short-term benefit of boosting motivation to perform but can adversely affect wellbeing and further exacerbates the previously mentioned issues associated with being released. We want to work with people in academies to change how they view themselves. We help them to develop an understanding that they are whole and valuable people in or outside of football and that their ability to play football is only part of who they are. We want to shine a light on what else they have to offer – skills and qualities that they have always possessed but may not have been aware of because they have not been taught deserve attention. This ultimately helps to build resilience for whatever may unfold in the incredibly demanding and competitive environment that is football.

Football might be a business, but the players cannot be viewed as a commodity; they are people. And incredible people at that.

Shaween Amin, Chartered Psychologist