Soccer players' mental health & Games required to play Martin Beshara DR. Kota & DR. Brown Senior Project APSM- 4315 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. 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 9.

1. Soccer players' mental health & Games required to play
Martin Beshara
DR. Kota & DR. Brown
Senior Project
APSM- 4315
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,

2. 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.
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

3. 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.
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

4. 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 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.

5. 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 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).

6. 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 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.

7. 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 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 is because by
research men play way more games than females, so give me
more accurate results. Also, I am aiming for players between
the ages of 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

8. 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 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

9. 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 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."
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

10. 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.
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),
Answer this question:

11. After the American Civil War what do believe was
accomplished by Reconstruction?
Reply to this discussion (you can add some info to it)
Reconstruction was a period that took place following the
American Civil War (1865 to 1877), and it
was during this time that significant reforms took place, such as
the passing of the Civil Right Act in
1866. Slave men were granted the ability to vote and to enter
public office as a result of the Civil
Right Act. In addition, in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was
ratified, making it illegal to keep
slaves in the United States. This amendment resulted in the
emancipation of about four million slaves
and the abolition of slavery. The passing of time also resulted in
the passage of the Fourteenth
Amendment in 1868, which granted African Americans
citizenship and ensured that they would be
afforded equal protection under the law and would not be
subject to discrimination. The passage of
the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, which granted voting rights
to African Americans, was yet another
significant shift that occurred during the Reconstruction period.
In addition to all of these
developments, African Americans began living lives free from
slavery. They began owning lands, they
were now able to engage politically, and they began looking for
work as liberated men. On the other
hand, as a result of all the changes that occurred, the central
authority of the federal government
increased, and it grew more centralized. In addition, the
enforcement of these new rules and
legislation was only successful so long as Northern Yankee
Officers maintained a physical presence in
the South. As soon as the Depression of 1873 hit, Northern
States and the Federal Government

12. nearly demanded that Cotton be re-instituted. As a result, in
order to make good with the South, the
Federal Government began pulling back Federal troops, which
made all of these Amendments look
like "paper-tiger laws." The outside is rock-like, yet the interior
is feeble and void of substance. The
subsequent events would mark the beginning of the reign of
terror directed at African Americans.
Direction : No reference (I have a textbook)