Premier League considers aftercare system for release
Apr 4, 2021 12:14:29 GMT -5
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Post by bogan on Apr 4, 2021 12:14:29 GMT -5
“ EXCLUSIVESome clubs have good systems in place for former players but none are forced or obliged to offer wellbeing and mental-health support”
The Premier League is considering a formalised process to ensure released academy players receive wellbeing and mental-health support, i can reveal.
While the idea is in the early stages of development, it could eventually become a requirement for all Premier League clubs to offer support for players released before receiving a professional contract.
The Football Association has no regulatory safety net in place to protect young footballers who, in many cases today, have devoted more than a decade of their lives to the game only to be discarded before a professional deal arrives. The governing body currently leaves it to the league bodies to deal with.
Under the Premier League’s regulations, it is mandatory for clubs to provide a “transition strategy” for players leaving a club, but they are not forced or obliged to offer wellbeing and mental-health support. If discussions within the Premier League develop, that could become a centralised, formal process.
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‘I had depression, anxiety, all that trauma… leaving Fulham nearly killed me’
In January, Max Noble, a former Fulham academy player and Wales youth international, detailed harrowing experiences of racism, bullying and threatening behaviour that led to him considering suicide after being released. Noble still suffers from anxiety and depression as a result.
Noble called for a mandatory aftercare system to be put in place. “If you take a boy out of school you owe him aftercare,” he told i. “That’s it. You can’t promise them the world, then ignore them when they’re depressed, or they’re going through what I had to go through. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. The academy system is failing, you can see just by the numbers, it’s completely failing.”
On an individual basis, some clubs are doing positive work. Liverpool, for example, have established an “alumni project” to track and offer support to players who have left the club. Their head of player care, Phil Roscoe, believes it is their duty to help players who have been with them for many years...”
The Premier League is considering a formalised process to ensure released academy players receive wellbeing and mental-health support, i can reveal.
While the idea is in the early stages of development, it could eventually become a requirement for all Premier League clubs to offer support for players released before receiving a professional contract.
The Football Association has no regulatory safety net in place to protect young footballers who, in many cases today, have devoted more than a decade of their lives to the game only to be discarded before a professional deal arrives. The governing body currently leaves it to the league bodies to deal with.
Under the Premier League’s regulations, it is mandatory for clubs to provide a “transition strategy” for players leaving a club, but they are not forced or obliged to offer wellbeing and mental-health support. If discussions within the Premier League develop, that could become a centralised, formal process.
Read More - Featured Image
Read More
‘I had depression, anxiety, all that trauma… leaving Fulham nearly killed me’
In January, Max Noble, a former Fulham academy player and Wales youth international, detailed harrowing experiences of racism, bullying and threatening behaviour that led to him considering suicide after being released. Noble still suffers from anxiety and depression as a result.
Noble called for a mandatory aftercare system to be put in place. “If you take a boy out of school you owe him aftercare,” he told i. “That’s it. You can’t promise them the world, then ignore them when they’re depressed, or they’re going through what I had to go through. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. The academy system is failing, you can see just by the numbers, it’s completely failing.”
On an individual basis, some clubs are doing positive work. Liverpool, for example, have established an “alumni project” to track and offer support to players who have left the club. Their head of player care, Phil Roscoe, believes it is their duty to help players who have been with them for many years...”
