Mental health in sport initiative launched

Organisations including the Rugby Football Union, the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board are joining the initiative aimed at removing the stigma of mental health. The initiative follows a report by Mind, a leading mental health charity, which outlined many testimonies from high profile sports men and women about mental health struggles.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who is launching the initiative, said: "Today is such a momentous day for the nation’s mental health. For the very first time we’re standing together to help kick mental health discrimination out of sport, not just on the pitches but across the playgrounds, so that we can build a fairer society in which no one has to suffer in silence."

The Charter will publicly promote good mental health policies, and openly encourage physical activity and social interaction for their contribution to good mental health.

Emma Boggis, Chief Executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said: "This is one of those areas where sport and physical activity really can change lives, but there’s not enough awareness of it as a treatment or as a way of preventing people from falling into poor mental health in the first place."

Boggis went on to comment: "Too much of the association between sport and mental health is negative – like when a top athlete suffers problems. We want to re-frame that relationship so that people understand that sport is a positive place for conversations about mental health."

The announcement comes two days before the launch of the first NHS waiting time standards for mental health, which will bring treatments for mental health problems on an equal footing with physical health. The Charter is part of a wider campaign by the Deputy Prime Minister to improve support and treatment for mental health. The Budget on 18 March revealed a £1.25 billion investment into the industry, while Clegg has also assisted in securing £150 million funding for the treatment and support of young people with eating disorders and a £54 million for the Children and Young people's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

To read the Mind report

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