How ‘Mental health football’ is helping people in Blackpool

Blackpool Football Therapy host weekly football sessions at Stanley Park to help improve the mental health of people across Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde.

They’re one of the town’s leading groups for ‘mental health football’, an initiative focused on offering people escapism and an enjoyable way to connect with others facing similar struggles.

BFT offer sessions up to six times a week, and despite being football orientated, footballing ability is far from their core principle. 

That’s because they welcome players of all different ages, including those with no footballing experience, who gather down to participate with the simple aim of improving their mental health.

Any male over 18 is welcome to join their sessions and founder Anthony Barrot is keen to show that everyone can experience the benefits.

“If you're on the couch, you love football and you want to be a part of something again and you feel on your own and you're struggling - come down, come meet us, send us a message.

“It's not about ability, it’s not about how good you are. You don't have to be Ronaldo to come down here. It's all about kicking a ball and meeting other people just like you, like-minded people that are going through struggles.”

The organisation’s founder also believes playing football together offers a unique form of escapism.

“It's a 60-minute release; not having to worry about any of the issues that you've got. You can just concentrate on yourself and forget all your worries for that time, the group founder said.

“It doesn’t matter about ability: we’re non-competitive. That's what we really want people to come down to and it's worked so far. That's one of the reasons why I started it, I wanted to release.”

The football therapy club offer a range of different sessions to suit players of all different abilities and ages.

“We have a various group chat’s around on Facebook and WhatsApp, people can communicate through there and go from there really.”

The group have seen a rapid growth in the number of participants since their launch, shortly after the Covid-19 lockdown period.

“It was huge, and a lot of people wanted to see what mental health football was all about.”

Now Anthony believes Blackpool Football Therapy is continuing to have a positive impact on people’s lives, with around 80-100 people attending their sessions per week.

“They're giving people purpose again; and we've seen a massive boom.

“It's non-competitive and it doesn't matter who wins, loses, or draws, it's about what they get out of the session. And I think that's probably one of our strengths.

“We're one really close-knit group: there's never any arguments or bad vibes. We really enjoy it and it's just getting out of the house and that 60 minutes can really change your life.”

The dad-of-four also said the emergence Blackpool Football Therapy has helped set a successful blueprint for the launch of more mental health football organisations across Blackpool.

“We're now seeing more and more organisations come up that that try and do football as a mental health group and that can only be a positive for Blackpool and the town itself.”

“It’s getting more and more people out, whether it's men, women, boys or children and it's a message. Football can be powerful if it's done the right way.”

If you’d like to get involved, Anthony and the team at Blackpool Football Therapy can be contacted via the details below:

Facebook: Blackpool Football Therapy CIC

X: BlackpoolFt