Mental support box for football clubs launched
On average, two players in every changing room are struggling with their mental wellbeing. Yet conversations about mental health often do not take place. That is something the initiators hope to change. During the Week of Mental Health, the Mental Support Box was launched at Forum Sport in Voorburg: a package of practical tools designed to help make mental health a topic of conversation within football clubs.
With the new Support Box, the KNVB and Zilveren Kruis, together with knowledge partner MIND Us, aim to make discussions about mental health a natural part of club culture. Just like a physical injury, an invisible injury deserves attention.
Prof. Manon Hillegers (Erasmus MC) during the launch of the Mental Support Box, together with Her Majesty Queen Máxima and partners from KNVB, MIND Us and Zilveren Kruis.
Mental support
The first Support Box was presented on 2 June to Her Majesty Queen Máxima, in the presence of Minister Mirjam Sterk (Long-term Care, Youth and Sport), football players and a team of well-known Dutch personalities.
The box contains a variety of tools that help players, coaches, trainers and volunteers start conversations more easily. These include a football featuring conversation prompts to encourage discussion about mental health in an accessible way. The box also includes Football Checkers, a football-specific version of The Checkers, an online training programme designed to help support figures within football better assist young people.
During the event, Minister Sterk highlighted the importance of addressing mental health among young people: “Many young people struggle with mental health issues, and it is very important that we make this topic discussable. Sport can play a valuable role in this. From the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, we are committed to making sport and physical activity accessible to everyone. But it starts with creating space for young people to talk openly and helping to break the taboo.”
Football as a place to reach young people
According to the initiators, football is uniquely positioned to reach young people. Football clubs form the largest social network in the Netherlands and are places where signs of mental wellbeing and mental health challenges can become visible. However, talking about these issues is still not self-evident. Research by Motivaction shows that 43% of young football players do not know how to start a conversation about how they are really feeling.
During the launch event, a roundtable discussion took place with Queen Máxima, Minister Sterk and representatives from KNVB, Zilveren Kruis, MIND Us and Erasmus MC. The discussion focused on experiences and perspectives on supporting the mental health of young people through sport.
Representing Erasmus MC, Prof. Manon Hillegers, Chair of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, participated in the discussion. She emphasised the importance of prevention and a strong social environment around young people:
Talking about mental health should become just as normal as talking about physical health. Mental health is not a challenge for healthcare alone; it is a societal challenge. By investing in prevention and a strong social environment around young people, we can truly make a difference — today and for the future.
Collaboration around youth mental health
The involvement of Erasmus MC is closely connected to the Convergence Health & Technology Flagship PROTECt ME, in which researchers from Erasmus MC, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam work together to improve the understanding, prevention and early recognition of mental health problems among young people.
Initiatives such as The Invisible Injury demonstrate how organisations from sport, healthcare, science and society can work together to make mental health more discussable and provide better support for young people.
Article KNVB: Mentale supportbox voor voetbalclubs gelanceerd in aanwezigheid van Koningin Máxima | KNVB