PFA Urged to Enhance Support for Footballers Facing Addiction and Mental Health Challenges

The Guardian has reported that the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has been called on to offer more preventative support for mental health problems and addictions after Everton midfielder Dele Alli spoke about his struggles with sleeping pill addiction. Clarke Carlisle, a former chairman of the PFA who now serves as a mental health consultant, emphasized that the PFA’s current approach is reactionary and only comes into play when players face issues. He argued that the PFA needs to proactively identify signs of detrimental behaviors in players by having a team of representatives at professional clubs daily. Carlisle also pointed to increasing late games due to media scheduling as a challenge for players’ rest. The PFA responded that it is expanding its wellbeing team and regularly providing club mental health workshops. However, it considered having representatives within all clubs as impractical due to the requirement of specialist staff and access.