Government Reveals Mental Health Action Plan For Elite Sport

A fresh action plan will be set up aiming to prevent professional athletes from reaching their ‘mental health crisis point’.

It comes as the government announced a series of extra training support for athletes and coaches designed to pick up on signs of poor mental health and to promote positive mental wellbeing.

Ministers hope all UK elite sport bodies will have a clear mental health strategy by 2024.

The scheme will be a partnership between UK Sport, Sport England, professional player associations, The Sport and Recreation Alliance and mental health charity Mind.

It is hoped the action plan will include specific mental health training for performance directors, coaches and governing bodies, lottery funded athletes taking part in activities designed to reduce stigma.

Minister for Sports and Civil Society @Tracey_crouch welcomes new action plan setting out support for mental health in sport to help #StoptheStigma https://t.co/XQsPBBLrS9 pic.twitter.com/uSXCd9K0cI

— DCMS (@DCMS) March 21, 2018

It comes as the Football League announced its partnership last month with Mind on a two year deal.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, sports minister Tracey Crouch said: "Over the past 18 months there have been a number of high-profile stars reaching crisis point - a point where they had to be sectioned or taken out of the game,"

"What I wanted to do to is make sure we have the right interventions in place early on so they don't reach crisis point.

"It is a good step forward to support elite sports stars in the future."