The fan-led review into the governance of English football has criticised the Football Association for its “limited role” in ensuring released academy footballers are provided adequate mental health support — and called for an aftercare system to be established.
The failures around academy footballers was not even within the remit of the review but former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, who met with hundreds of people across the game to compile it, told i she heard enough evidence to prompt “significant concern” and that “it would be remiss of us not to put it into the report given the fact there are significant safeguarding concerns around it”.
The review describes rectifying the current failures as “a matter of high priority” and accuses football’s stakeholders of passing the buck. “There is an apparent assumption among several groups that it is for ‘someone else to address’ – be that the PFA, or clubs, or leagues,” the review states.
In a series of interviews and in-depth reports during the past year, i has exposed the severe mental health problems that former academy players faced after being let go following, in some instances, more than a decade of devoting their life to a club. Some players have considered or attempted to take their own life.
Speaking to i in January, Max Noble, a former Fulham academy player who suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of his experiences, called for an aftercare system to be established for released players to support their mental health.
That call is echoed in Crouch’s review. “As a matter of high priority, the football stakeholders, including the FA, men’s leagues, the PFA, clubs and women’s leagues should work together to devise a holistic and comprehensive player welfare system to fully support players exiting the game, particularly at academy level but including retiring players, including proactive mental health care and support,” the report recommends.
Crouch adds: “What was really interesting and quite significant was the number of fans who were concerned about young players in academies. It wasn’t something we thought we were going to hear.
“Sadly we’ve seen some tragedies as a consequence. Now is the time [to act], we’re all talking about mental health, let’s put some pieces in place to support youngsters.”
The FA has always stressed that they leave the regulation of academies up to the Premier League and the English Football League. But critics do not believe released teenagers are given enough proactive support.
An FA spokesperson said: “We have been fully engaged with the review since its inception and recognise its importance for English football. Many positive changes have already been made, some of which are directly as a result of the review. We will digest the report in full and will continue to liaise with the Government on potential solutions to the topics and recommendations that have been made.”
The review also recommends an Independent Regulator for English Football is established — autonomous from the FA and government — by an Act in Parliament to oversee the governance of English football, wresting many responsibilities away from the FA, Premier League and English Football League, who the report believes are falling short of requirements.
The IREF would oversee stricter financial regulations, take control of the owners’ and directors’ test, ensure money is better distributed throughout the pyramid, including imposing a solidarity levy on Premier League transfers, make fan input into major decisions compulsory and give supporters powers to veto decisions to protect club heritage, including preventing owners joining a breakaway league not affiliated to Fifa, Uefa and the FA.
Several previous government reviews of football have not led to change, but Crouch is “optimistic” this will, due to it being prompted by the failed attempts by the Premier League’s most lucrative clubs to form a breakaway European Super League. The idea collapsed after English fans, many of whom supported clubs involved in the breakaway, revolted.
“The fact it was triggered by the ESL furore and the Prime Minister’s response and government’s response in terms of a ‘legislative bombshell’, I’m really confident the report will show them why this has to be done now.
“The fact the review was conceived because of the collapse of Bury and that there was significant concern about the demise of a football club and the impact on its local community. And finally part of government which never really knew why football was important suddenly got it. That helps.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3FPrvVr
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