Ben Chilwell and Beth Mead helped launch the ‘Create the Space’ platform in the UK, which will enable football to better address mental health issues; warning: the following article contains the theme of suicide
8:47 a.m., United Kingdom, Thursday 2 November 2023
England footballers Ben Chilwell and Beth Mead have spoken out about their mental health struggles as the pair join a host of football figures to launch the ‘Create the Space’ platform – to help equip the sport to understand and manage mental health.
The mental health crisis affects one in four people in the UK and Chilwell and Mead join other football figures, including Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema and former Watford and Bolton striker Marvin Sordell, to launch ‘Create the Space”.
The mental health movement, developed by Common Goal, will not only use football as a tool to tackle mental health at a grassroots level, but will also enable the elite level of the sport to become a space where everyone feels encouraged and involved. comfortable expressing yourself. on and off the field.
Speaking about her struggles, Lionesses striker Mead said: “In January I lost my mother and because of the injury I couldn’t play football, which was always my escape, my place of happiness. Times when people thought I was okay because of my open-minded personality, were very dark.
“It’s been a difficult process to understand. My teammates, the people at the club, my family and friends who supported me were so important, without them I could have found myself in a much darker place. I want help create an environment where it’s okay to address mental health.
“There’s no perfect solution to dealing with it, but if you feel like you’re not alone it helps immensely. We need to normalize mental health and in doing so it would go a long way.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Chilwell added: “I’ve had my own mental health journey and I wasn’t sure where to turn for help.
“It is up to our generation to change this and ensure that across the whole of football, from the elite level down to young people in community organisations, we support each other and are equipped with the tools to help ourselves and those around us.
“We need to move from talk about mental health to action, and Create the Space provides a platform for anyone who wants to take action to play a part in tackling mental health issues, whether they play in the Premier League, on the playground, or in the park.”
Common Goal will partner with Football Beyond Borders in the UK to pilot an integrated, experiential and holistic program aimed at empowering mental health champions, ensuring individuals across the football ecosystem are equipped to provide support on and off the field.
Arsenal striker Miedema also spoke about how she needed more support at certain times in her career.
“Where I grew up in the north of the Netherlands, it just wasn’t acceptable to talk about mental health, it just wasn’t done,” she said. “Then when I moved to Germany and said I wasn’t feeling very well and needed more time, I was told I needed to train harder.
“At Arsenal, when I had the opportunity to see someone, I suffered from panic attacks, but even then I still wasn’t sure if I should do it, because he hadn’t never been acceptable to take care of my mental health.
“The proudest moment of my career so far has been taking care of myself and my mental health, not just physical. Everyone needs support.”
Tottenham’s Molly Bartrip added: “A few years ago I was in a situation where I wanted to kill myself. You feel like you’re a burden, but it’s the strongest thing to ask for ugly.
“Mental health shouldn’t be a forbidden subject, it should be as open as having an injury. I now see my vulnerability as a strength. For the first time in 10 years, I don’t see a mental health counselor. this moment.
“I want football to become a safe space and I hope that from the highest level down to the grassroots level, that is what we can achieve with Create the Space.”
In addition to the London-based players, Create the Space is led in the United States by American defender Naomi Girma and several of her USWNT and NWSL teammates.
Other top international players, such as Portuguese and Galatasaray midfielder Sergio Oliveira and Real Sociedad’s Spanish goalkeeper Alex Remiro, also support Create the Space.
