1 Soccer players' mental health & Games required to play Martin Beshara DR. Kota & DR. Brown Senior Project APSM- 4315 2 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. 3 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 nu.

1. 1
Soccer players' mental health & Games required to play
Martin Beshara
DR. Kota & DR. Brown
Senior Project
APSM- 4315
2
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

2. 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

3. 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.
3
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

4. 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

5. game.
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
4
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.

6. 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

7. not significantly connected with
age.
5
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

8. 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
their mental issues. The study therefore shows that assistance
provided for professional

9. 6
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

10. 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
are as a result of strains and fatigue, which might be caused by
playing too many games.

11. 7
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

12. 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
like suicide, but also because it is associated with higher rates
of non-adherence and dropouts

13. 8
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.
9
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

14. 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.