A 12-week football mental health programme launched in Sheffield this week.

The programme, run by Head In the Game and currently based in Dore, aims to use sport as a way to get men aged between 18 to 55 to talk about their mental health. The first session took place on Monday, with the bad weather proving no obstacle for the participants.

Founder of Head in the Game, Mark Pinkney, said that it was great to have the chance to expand into South Yorkshire and start delivering in Sheffield.

He said the programme can have a powerful impact: “Little bonds of trust start to start to form and it’s been really, really powerful

“The guys have really benefited from the physical element of the sessions. Their mental well being has increased. And most importantly, they’ve had an environment that they feel safe and confident to open up and talk because traditionally men don’t talk. It’s very, very difficult to get men to talk about their feelings to talk about how they’re really feeling.”

Football and community schemes such as this can help mental health in many ways. Sheffield Mind say that “there are lots of ways in which football and mental health issues connect”.

These schemes are even more important given the long waiting times for mental health issues at the moment, and for Mark Pinkney schemes like this can act as a preventative measure.

He said: “We are the earliest form of early intervention. We actually work with a lot of men who probably don’t realise that they have the beginnings of a mental health condition. So it’s really, really important.

“One of our aims and objectives as an organisation is to give people the chance to come to us first and come and get involved in sessions. But most importantly, we want to prevent people from actually needing NHS support, whether it be through your local GP or whether it’s your community mental health team.”

The programme is funded by South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation, who support community groups that help people facing hardship and disadvantage.

Chief Executive Ruth Willis said: “In this instance, it shows the impact Community Grants can have in providing a space for men, aged between 18 and 55, to openly talk about their mental health and receive support from their peers. Being able to partake in physical activity is always beneficial and the commitment by everyone involved was on display battling against the strong weather conditions.”

Funding has been provided by SYCF for the whole of 2023, which means that the programme can run until at least November next year.

Head in the Game aims to run two more 12-week sessions across Sheffield, and are also talking to professional football clubs about potential partnerships.

Mark Pinkney said: “We’re just scratching the surface of what we’re hoping to do for the rest of the year.”

You can register interest in the 12-week programme here.