Mind and EFL partnership
Our partnership with the EFL
Between 2018 and 2022, we worked in partnership with the English Football League (EFL) to raise awareness of mental health.
What we did
- Get Set to Go x EFL. Get Set to Go was a nationwide physical activity programme run by Mind (and funded by Sport England and the National Lottery) which aimed to support people with mental health problems to get more active as a way of improving their mental wellbeing. It was expanded, thanks to fundraising from the EFL and Mind’s ‘On Your Side’ partnership, to include nine EFL Clubs.
- Our ‘Get it off your chest’ report on men’s mental health is helping to push for real change to Government policy.
- Our Have Your Mate's Back campaign encouraged football fans to look out for their mates, and wear their shirts back to front, to support better mental health in football.
- As part of Mind’s charity partnership with the EFL, a group of ten players and managers from the three Football Leagues were unveiled as ‘On Your Side’ Champions. They supported projects and campaigns throughout the partnership – you can watch their interviews here.
- Names and numbers. During the partnership, our ‘squiggle’ appeared on the back of every EFL shirt across all Clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two, in a first for English football.
Legacy of the Mind and EFL partnership
- The EFL, along with all the football family, signed up to the Mentally Healthy Football Declaration. Through this, they're committing to building a mentally healthy culture at all levels of the game, now and for future generations.
- Fans have supported the partnership by raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to fund Mind’s life-changing services. They did this through events, bucket collections at 93 dedicated match days, individual sponsored challenges, and charity football tournaments.
- Working closely with local Minds, we’ve trained over 2,600 staff at EFL clubs in mental health awareness. 98% of staff fed back that the training had changed their attitudes and beliefs about mental health.
- More than 5,800 people took part in our ‘Get Set to Go’ programme, which encouraged people with mental health problems to get physically active.
Football and mental health
We met some incredible people during our partnership with the EFL. Many shared their experiences of the importance of football to their mental health.
- Southend United supporter Robert was presented with a special shirt by the club as a thank you for speaking out about mental health. Read Robert's story.
- Trevor, who is Stadium Manager at Plymouth Argyle, has a shirt in memory of Rhys, who took his own life. Read Trevor's story.
- Scott Perry was David’s oldest friend. They both grew up in Portsmouth and started going to football matches together from around the age of 14. They continued to do this even when they both moved away from the city. Read Dave and Scott's story.
- Rohan has been a football fan all his life, devotedly following his team through the ups and downs in his own mental health. Read Rohan's story.
- Lewis blogs about how visiting different football stadiums is helping him conquer his fears. Read Lewis' story.
Support for you
Talking to someone who you trust is an important first step to getting help and support. This could be a friend, family member or professional.
Support from Mind: Talk to us – call our Infoline or visit our information and support pages. Need urgent help?
Support for players: The Professional Footballers Association (PFA) provides a wide range of support to academy players and professional footballers. These include self-help resources, a confidential 24 hour helpline and counselling.
Support for managers: The League Managers Association (LMA) provides support to members through their health care scheme.
For more information about getting involved in Mind’s sports work, see our sports pages.
