A Sheffield football club that supports disconnected young men battling through addiction is launching a mental health training course held by Helping Hands Training Specialists as part of their celebration of on-field success.

Futures FC are a mental health friendly amateur football team that support young men who feel disconnected with their community and may be experiencing mental health issues.

The team was founded by Phil Carr, who had suffered from substance abuse for 32 years. He believes the constant theme of his battle with addiction was that he was “disconnected from society”.

Mr Carr, who has become a psychotherapist with his own practice in the last five years, labelled the main ethos of his team as “healing through connection”.

He said: “In reconnecting through Futures FC, I started to reconnect with other people. I began to believe in myself more.”

Alongside being a celebration of the team’s achievements, both on and off the field, the event on December 10 will be a fundraiser with a free mental health awareness training course.

The course, provided by Sheffield’s Helping Hands, will help members of the community to understand conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, with the ultimate goal of getting young men to speak more about their mental health.

Victoria Crook, an director for HHTS, told Sheffield Wire that speaking about mental health is still very much a taboo for young men in South Yorkshire.

She said: “Men are always told not to cry, not to be sensitive, you can’t talk about your feelings.

“We’re trying to break that stigma, we say it is okay to talk when you are struggling.”

Alongside mental health training, the event will include a performance from local musician Harrison Rimmer and an exhibition from artist Euphoric Recall.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to further fund the work of Futures FC, who recently secured funding from the National Lottery via Sport England for their excellent work with mental health.

Further information about the event can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-futures-fc-and-mental-health-awareness-tickets-474592588207