Match Fit: An exploration of mental health in football

‘Match Fit’ takes an in-depth look at the issues in football, from the Premier League down to five-a-side, in the hope of destigmatising a much-neglected topic, with candid contributions from the likes of Chris Kirkland, Paul Lambert and Marcus Bent.

Subjects such as the issues facing footballers after retirement and the rise of social media are placed under the microscope, and readers discover how being a football fan can benefit your mental health.

Seasoned pros discuss the challenges they’ve faced in football, speaking openly about personal experiences most of us wouldn’t associate with the glamour of the beautiful game.

From a grassroots perspective, there are uplifting stories of how people have learnt to manage their mental health, with football as a key tool to help them get through their day-to-day lives.

‘Match Fit’ is inspired by a desire to ensure mental health does not remain a taboo subject in society.

Author Johnnie Lowery, 24, is a keen football fan, following England and Sutton United home and away.

His first book, Six Added Minutes, was written while he was at university and published in November 2019.

“The book is inspired by my own struggles with mental health as a teenager,” he said.

“In those years of my life, I felt down a lot of the time but didn’t really know what mental health was and so didn’t seek any help.

“The aim of Match Fit is to address that problem by seeking to normalise conversation around mental health, using football as a vehicle for this.”

If the interviewees – involved in a sport that has traditionally lauded masculinity and the absence of so-called weakness – can open up about their mental health, then so can anyone.

‘Match Fit’ is due for release by Pitch Publishing Ltd on August 28 priced at £18.99 and, over the course of its 384 pages, looks at the following:

•Changing attitudes towards mental health as football learns of its importance for top performance on the pitch as well as for reasons of wellbeing

•Issues with gambling addiction that are sadly endemic in football

•The experiences of those who go through football’s academy system and don’t make it, and the help that exists for them

•What social media platforms are doing to tackle online abuse, and the extent of the problem within the football world

•Top academics such as Dr Misia Gervis providing context to the words of those telling their stories

•The rebuilding of a community gutted by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, with football at the heart of it

•How being a football fan can benefit your mental health