Presentation

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Soccer players' mental health & Games required to play

Martin Beshara

DR. Kota & DR. Brown

Senior Project

APSM- 4315

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Introduction

Football has been referred to as "more than just a game." Footballers thus experience

psychological suffering despite having great athletic performance. In support of this, more than

25% of professional footballers have signs of sadness and anxiety (Gouttebarge, 2014). In the

extremely stressful atmosphere of football, where emotional experiences are intertwined with

numerous performance-related factors, aggravating negative emotions can have longer-lasting

negative effects. But when does mental discomfort start?

Although professional football is a common career goal for young guys, there is little

chance that it will ever happen. Professional football teams sign players as young as 8 years old,

and they terminate their contracts up to even when they become 12 years old. The fortunate

players are then offered two-year contracts, but between the ages of 14 and 16, players must

persevere under pressure to secure a three-year deal. Because professional sports contracts are so

hard to get and keep, the pressure that competitive athletes experience may exacerbate their

psychological anguish. Although we don't know how common psychological anguish is among

young football players, we do know that teenagers can also face mental health problems.

One of FIFPRO's top priorities is raising awareness of the mental health challenges that

players in today's game face. The ability to accurately diagnose and treat mental health issues

with the same dedication and care as physical illnesses is crucial. Although they are not usually

evident, mental health problems can show themselves in many different ways, from anxiety and

depression to insomnia, and each of these can have a negative effect on a player's personal and

professional life.

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Playing too many games is one of the primary concerns with the current soccer

environment. There are few opportunities for actual rest because international competitions break

conflict with the club seasons of the players. For example, players in the Premier League, La

Liga, and Bundesliga frequently do not have access to the same breaks as those in more

privileged leagues. Clubs and international teams occasionally require a player to aid them in

achieving their objectives.

FIFA proposed holding the World Cup every two years in an effort to increase revenue

and "expand the game." In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA recently increased the

number of participating teams to 48. The problem with every two years World Cup might need

its own discussion. But with more games available, gamers would be under a lot of stress. In

between World Cup years, the majority of players on top European teams participate in

continental tournaments like the European Championship or Copa América.

To prevent burnout, players and coaches are requesting a cap on the number of

"back-to-back" games. Nearly 90% of athletes who participated in a survey for the international

footballers' union Fifpro think the cap should be six games or fewer. Additionally, according to

Fifpro, athletes should be limited to 55 matches in a season. According to Grez (2021), Star

footballers are suffering from a variety of issues, not only playing an excessive number of

minutes each week. Long-haul international flights that pass through several time zones are

another issue, especially for individuals who are on official business trips from Europe to South

America and Asia. The high number of games has also been believed to affect the mental health

of the players due to the many flights and many minutes per game.

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Literature review

The major aim of this research is to investigate if the number of games played by soccer

players affects their mental health and investigate if reducing the number of games. According to

Bower (2018), In 2018, a record number of players are anticipated to seek assistance from the

PFA for mental health issues. According to data provided to the Guardian, more than 250 players

utilized the service in the first half of 2018, up from 160 incidents in 2016 to 403 in 2017.

A study conducted by Joo et al (2016) to assess the technical elements and physical

demands made on young Korean soccer players during small-sided games (SSGs) on

various-sized pitches. During a youth competition that was organized around the nation,

participants were chosen at random. In smaller fields, it was observed that there were more

touches and intensity, which generally increases intensity hence fatigue levels of the players.

Pitch size therefore has an effect on the fatigue levels of the footballers, and therefore the greater

the number of games, the more the intensity and this is according to the research conducted

during small sided games in Korea.

Jensen et al (2018) conducted a study to investigate how perfectionism and anxiety in

elite male football players from Denmark and Sweden relate to depressive symptoms. 323

players from the A-squad and U-19 teams were polled (M age = 22.08 years, SD = 5.15) using a

cross-sectional design. The poll asked about personal details as well as measures of social

anxiety, competitive anxiety, perfectionism (striving and anxieties), and depressive symptoms.

According to the findings, 16.7% of the subjects had depressed symptoms overall. Furthermore,

correlation studies provided evidence of links between depression and competitive anxiety, social

phobia, and worries about perfectionism. Despite the fact that the depression levels of elite junior

players were much greater than those of professional players and that they also displayed higher

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levels of competitive anxiety and social phobia, depression was not significantly connected with

age.

The study's findings show that there is a need for greater awareness of mental health

issues in elite football, and that the psychological factors that were looked at could serve as a

foundation for developing preventive programs and supportive interventions for footballers who

are experiencing depressive symptoms. Perfectionism generally involves playing to the best and

putting up good performances with minimal errors to impress people watching. A majority of

young players who want to play professional football face this problem, since who wouldn't want

to be recruited by one of the best teams in the world? Due to that pressure, they play to their best

and are ready to play as many games as they can to be recruited. According to the study's results,

this affects their mental health, which is caused by anxiety and depression. Putting up good

performances and not being recruited can be traumatizing, and therefore this causes anxiety

among the players.

Another research conducted by Wood et al (2017), to investigate experiences with mental

health issues and assistance sought by male professional footballers. Soccer players who are

male and play professionally are at risk of experiencing mental health issues and not getting the

help they need. Four out of every ten active football players say they have mental health issues.

After retirement, a higher occurrence is noted. This qualitative study intended to offer in-depth

insight into the lived experiences of mental health challenges and help-seeking among male

professional footballers. According to the results of the study, one overarching topic, "Survival,"

arose. This has to do with surviving in the world of professional football, dealing with mental

health issues, and adjusting to life in the "real world." Shame, fear, and mental health literacy

were stated as barriers to the male professional footballers being unable to deal with and share

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their mental issues. The study therefore shows that assistance provided for professional

footballers' mental health has to be improved. The study also suggested that future research,

mental health education, and support should be further exploited.

A study was conducted by Sanders et al (2017), to investigate associations between

former professional football players' reasons for retiring, chronic pain, athletic identity, and

depressive symptoms. Recognized as a significant psychological stressor, retirement from

professional sport calls for the identification of risk factors for mental health issues following

career termination. The study therefore looked at relationships among depressive symptoms,

chronic pain, athletic identity, and career-ending injuries in former professional football players.

With 307 former male football players who have competed in a professional United Kingdom

league, a cross-sectional study was conducted. In addition to reporting their reasons for

retirement, participants completed assessments of depressive symptoms (Short

Depression-Happiness Scale), chronic pain (Pain Intensity Numerical Rating Scale), and athletic

identity (Athletic Identity Measurement Scale).

48 participants, or 16 percent, met the threshold for potential clinically significant

depressive cases. Compared to individuals without depressive symptoms, these participants had

more recent retirements and a stronger sense of athletic identity. Former athletes who

experienced depressive symptoms were more likely to retire due to injury and to still be in pain

from their injuries. According to multivariate logistic regression, having depressed symptoms

was independently correlated with retiring due to injury, having more discomfort, and having a

stronger sense of identity as an athlete. In conclusion, therefore, the likelihood of developing

depressive symptoms after retirement is significantly increased by career-ending injuries, while

persistent pain and a strong feeling of identity as an athlete are additional risk factors. Injuries

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are as a result of strains and fatigue, which might be caused by playing too many games.

Therefore, from the study, we can also conclude that many playing many games is associated

with mental issues.

The above past researches actually show that burnout of professional footballers has an

effect on their mental health. One of the most well-liked sports in the world is football. There are

millions of players, both amateur and professional. A player must possess remarkable talents and

abilities that require a significant commitment of time, effort, and attention in order to become an

elite performer. There are many distinct emotions associated with football, some of which are

quite strongly felt by both players and viewers. As a result, there has recently been interested in

learning how the game affects the players' and supporters' physical and mental health. This is

especially crucial because playing football puts athletes under a lot of mental stress, which could

make them more vulnerable to mental health issues. After a game is lost, players may experience

pain, disappointment, and despair, which can lead to depressive symptoms or even burnout. This,

therefore, playing many games can equal to losing many games and therefore affecting the

mental health of the players and also leading to physical burnout.

For footballers, there are several causes of depression which may include the extreme

mental strain and pressure of this specific activity which is football, the increased expectations

for performance, the accountability of being a team member, or the fact that players typically

spend a lot of time away from their loved ones. Being away from home can exacerbate feelings

of isolation and a lack of social interaction, which can eventually be linked to depressed

symptoms. Elite athletes may experience injuries more frequently, which can have a significant

impact on depression. The effects of unfavorable media content must also be taken into account.

Understanding depression in athletes is vital not only because it can lead to extreme measures

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like suicide, but also because it is associated with higher rates of non-adherence and dropouts

from sport and physical activity. Reducing the number of games is therefore likely to reduce the

number of mental health illnesses witnessed within professional footballers.

Methods Section

Participants

The best way to analyze whether players get distressed by playing too many games. Creating

surveys to different kinds of levels in the profession of soccer. I'll be surveying amateur level

soccer players, Semi-Pro and I'll try my best to get any professional players. I will also like to

interview soccer coaches and get their point of view of the amount of players required to play.

Players themselves will be huge participants to see the outcome of the survey and how it serves

them. The measures of people for my survey were more males than females. The reason for my

survey being more for men than females because by research men play way more games than

females, so give me more accurate results. Also, I am aiming for players between the age 18 to

30.

Measures Section

In the study, the results provided had great measurements for the research. We looked at the

amount of games played during the season and the amount of mental stress the player goes

through. These measurements were from amateur players to Semi-Pro players between the ages

of 18 and 25. Another measurement we've done is on professional players, so we can compare it

to the previous testers. I also did a calculation, seeing professional players playing in different

leagues and how it can complicate their lives and their mental stress. The amount of sleep was

also a factor of how players recover and improve their performance on the pitch. In the survey,

we ask players if they like the way their coach teaches them. A question that was very important

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to get an idea was, “how do you feel about your teammates?” An analytical measurement that

will determine the player's mental health is “do you believe you're playing the time you

deserve?”.

Procedures

The procedures that were used in the research are quantitative and qualitative. The reason is, we

did a measurement of how many games were played during the season. We also calculated the

amount of time each player played during the season quantitatively. The qualitative side of this

research was asking the players how they feel about playing in the game how they feel about

their club, how they feel about their teammates and how they feel about the coaches. The players

also spoke about their lifestyle and how sometimes they can't spend time with their families and

that can cause issues in performance. The two procedures have really strong correlations

because I do believe the amount of games results in how the players feel on the pitch. The

amount of minutes played during the games is how the players feel what they deserve.

Data Analysis

The data analytic in the findings show players that play all season games cannot have family

time. Players who play consistently are more likely to get injured and conflict on stats. The data

also shows a big gap of starters verse substitutes and how they cannot trust each other on the

pitch due to lack of time played with the substitutes. The huge gap of times played causes

division between the players and their friendships. They were shown two examples and asked

whether they both called for the same approach. Cornelia Frank draws the conclusion that "the

essential conclusion here is that the mental training helped the players to better discriminate

between the various tactics than before." A control group of futsal players who did not

participate in the mental training was used to evaluate the effects. "Astonishingly, the athletes

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who had participated in the mental training had more functional, that is, accurate, mental

conceptions of the procedures than the control group. This allowed them to develop their mental

strategy skills to a level comparable to those of professional players."

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References

Gouttebarge, V. (2014). Mental illness in professional football. FIFpro Study.

Grez, M. C. (2021, October 7). Footballers are playing an “obscene” amount of games. Will a

World Cup every two years make it worse? CNN. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/07/football/footballer-burnout-biennial-world-cup-spt-intl/index.

html

Bower, A. (2018, October 10). Footballers seeking mental health help in record numbers – but

it’s good news. The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/09/football-mental-health-record-numbers-pfa

Joo, C. H., Hwang-Bo, K., & Jee, H. (2016). Technical and physical activities of small-sided

games in young Korean soccer players. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 30(8),

2164-2173.

Jensen, S. N., Ivarsson, A., Fallby, J., Dankers, S., & Elbe, A. M. (2018). Depression in Danish

and Swedish elite football players and its relation to perfectionism and anxiety. Psychology of

Sport and Exercise, 36, 147-155.

Wood, S., Harrison, L. K., & Kucharska, J. (2017). Male professional footballers’ experiences of

mental health difficulties and help-seeking. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 45(2), 120-128.

Sanders, G., & Stevinson, C. (2017). Associations between retirement reasons, chronic pain,

athletic identity, and depressive symptoms among former professional footballers. European

journal of sport science, 17(10), 1311-1318.

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Kerr, Z. Y., Marshall, S. W., Harding Jr, H. P., & Guskiewicz, K. M. (2012). Nine-year risk of

depression diagnosis increases with increasing self-reported concussions in retired professional

football players. The American journal of sports medicine, 40(10),