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Football has always been about more than what happens on the pitch. For millions of fans and players, it is a source of identity, connection and emotion, and is becoming an increasingly a powerful platform for conversations about mental health and access to support, especially for those who would not ordinarily actively seek help through the traditional channels when they’re struggling.

With the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup underway, millions around the world and across north London are coming together to watch, celebrate and support their teams. Major tournaments like this create a strong sense of excitement and belonging, but they also bring intense emotions, from hope and anticipation to anxiety, stress and disappointment. People experience these emotions in different ways and to different degrees. For some, feelings may come and go like a gentle tide; for others, they can feel overwhelming, rising quickly and intensely.

As these varied personal responses to shared moments show, the power of football goes beyond the emotions it evokes. It also creates a natural opportunity to connect with others about how we’re truly feeling and not just about football. In this way, the passion and sense of belonging that come with the game can become a starting point for meaningful conversations about mental wellbeing.

Here are some examples of how we’ve done this from our work here at NLFT:

 

Football as a gateway to conversation

Whether you’re playing in a local team, supporting from the stands or watching at home, football creates a strong sense of belonging. That connection can make it easier to start conversations about mental wellbeing, particularly for people who may find it harder to open up in other settings.

Community initiatives such as Kick Off the Stigma show how effective this can be. The event brought together NHS talking therapies teams from NLFT, charities and community partners to share practical advice and encourage open conversations about mental health.

Importantly, these conversations happened naturally alongside the activity of playing and watching football. Participants highlighted how meaningful it was to see discussions about mental wellbeing taking place both on and off the pitch.

 

Bringing support into familiar space to tackle a major public health challenge

Suicide remains one of the most pressing public health issues, particularly among men, who are significantly more likely to die by suicide.

Through our long-standing partnership with Arsenal Football Club, we are helping to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and provide timely, accessible mental health support in community settings.

As part of this work, we delivered a pilot matchday mental health drop-in service during the 2025/26 season, offering a safe and welcoming space for fans to speak confidentially with one of our clinicians about their mental health as part of the Together Against Suicide campaign.

Funded by the Premier League, the service recognises that some people may feel more comfortable seeking help in familiar, trusted environments rather than through traditional routes, such as by calling their GP or setting foot in their local Practice. By extending its expertise beyond clinical settings and into everyday spaces, we are helping to ensure support is accessible, responsive, and centred around people’s needs.

 

Building on a long-standing community partnership

This work builds on more than 15 years of collaboration between NLFT and Arsenal in the Community, focused on improving mental health and wellbeing across north London.

Together, the partnership delivers a range of football-based initiatives that combine physical activity with emotional and psychological support, including:

• Weekly football sessions for adults living with mental health conditions
• Access to professional counselling for young people aged 14–24
• Sports psychology support within youth football programmes
• Mentoring schemes, such as the Advantage programme, for young people facing mental health challenges

These programmes create supportive, inclusive environments where people can build confidence, develop connections, and improve their overall wellbeing.

 

A joined-up model of care

Across all of these initiatives, we are bringing together clinical expertise, community delivery, and the reach of football to create a more accessible model of care.

By embedding mental health support within football environments where the people who need us may feel more comfortable, from community sessions to matchdays, we are helping ensure that more people can access support earlier, more easily, and in ways that work for them.

 

To find out more about some of our services, you can search by keyword, condition, or alphabetically, on this page of our website

To find out about some of the Accessible programmes run by Arsenal In The Community, and not just the ones run in collaboration with NLFT, please click here.