FREE tickets to football matches will be dished out on the NHS to people with depression under a landmark mental health scheme announced today.
Patients at GP surgeries in Gloucestershire will be given the chance to attend games at National League side Forest Green Rovers as an alternative to medication.
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Robbie Savage, Forest Green Rovers manager, has previously spoken openly about his own mental struggles as a player and coachCredit: Getty
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Free tickets to football matches will be dished out on the NHS to people with depression under a landmark schemeCredit: Getty
The scheme is designed to wean those suffering from mental health conditions off addictive antidepressants and get them out of the house to meet pals.
Some 91 million prescriptions for the sadness-busting drugs were dispensed in 2024, the equivalent of around three every second.
A record amount of antidepressants were also handed to children, including almost 4000 prescriptions for those under ten in 2024.
The new footy proposal follows suggestions by Labour MP Dr Simon Opher, a key advocate for social prescriptions for patients with mild mental health conditions.
Dr Opher, 61, has previously championed NHS-sanctioned comedy nights and gardening to help improve mental wellbeing.
The Labour MP for Stroud, in south Gloucestershire, joined widescale conern over the increasing number of people being prescribed pills where doing so could be avoided.
Dr Opher found that 80 per cent of patients who are prescribed social activities instead of drugs continue with them even after their ‘course’ runs out.
Many patients say meeting new people through their chosen activity, including exercise, walking groups or cooking clubs, reduces lonliness and makes them feel better.
The doctor went on: “I do think there’s something about watching football which does give you a sense of community.
“I think one of the biggest problems in our society is social isolation.
Britain’s greenest football club Forest Green Rovers create eco-friendly kit made from coffee beans
“Football is about socialising and roaring on your team, getting excited, taking yourself out of your own life for a short while, and living through something else.”
Forest Green Rovers, who appointed tough-tackling ex-Wales midfielder Robbie Savage as manager earlier this month, have provided the tickets for free as part of the trial.
BBC pundit and radio host Savage, 50, has previously spoken openly about his own mental struggles as a player and coach.
In 2017, he said: “As soon as the lights go out and the mic is off, I go back into my shell. I go home, I worry. I am insecure, very insecure.”
“Lots of current and ex-footballers, or just people in the workplace, suffer from these mental health issues but don’t speak.”
The club, which boasts of being Britain’s most eco-friendly footy side, were relegated from the Football League to the National League last year — but are looking to be promoted back to League Two this season.
Club owner and major Labour donor Dale Vince said: “I think it’d be a great thing if football clubs up and down the country could reach out to people and do this.
“Men typically don’t really talk about their issues, that’s the thing, and you get loneliness and things like that as well.”
Dr Opher’s concerns about over-prescribing began early in his career as a GP in 1995.
Depression… the signs to look for and what to do
Depression can manifest in many ways.
We all feel a bit low from time to time.
But depression is persistent and can make a person feel helpless and unable to see a way through.
They may also struggle to about daily life.
Mind says these are some common signs of depression that you may experience:
How you might feel
- Down, upset or tearful
- Restless, agitated or irritable
- Guilty, worthless and down on yourself
- Empty and numb
- Isolated and unable to relate to other people
- Finding no pleasure in life or things you usually enjoy
- Angry or frustrated over minor things
- A sense of unreality
- No self-confidence or self-esteem
- Hopeless and despairing
- Feeling tired all the time
How you might act
- Avoiding social events and activities you usually enjoy
- Self-harming or suicidal behaviour
- Difficulty speaking, thinking clearly or making decisions
- Losing interest in sex
- Difficulty remembering or concentrating on things
- Using more tobacco, alcohol or other drugs than usual
- Difficulty sleeping, or sleeping too much
- No appetite and losing weight, or eating more than usual and gaining weight
- Physical aches and pains with no obvious physical cause
- Moving very slowly, or being restless and agitated
If you feel this way, visit your GP who can help you.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support.
The following are free to contact and confidential:
Mind, www.mind.org, provide information about types of mental health problems and where to get help for them. Email info@mind.org.uk or call the infoline on 0300 123 3393 (UK landline calls are charged at local rates, and charges from mobile phones will vary).
YoungMinds run a free, confidential parents helpline on 0808 802 5544 for parents or carers worried about how a child or young person is feeling or behaving. The website has a chat option too.
Rethink Mental Illness, www.rethink.org, gives advice and information service offers practical advice on a wide range of topics such as The Mental Health Act, social care, welfare benefits, and carers rights. Use its website or call 0300 5000 927 (calls are charged at your local rate).
He said: “I’d started seeing there are a lot of people depressed out there, a lot of people with low mood, so I started putting a lot of them on antidepressants or referring them to mental health.
“Quite a few of them, one in four, maybe even more, would just come back no better, but with intractable problems.
“What I realised is that tablets didn’t help them, we had nothing to help them.
“I thought we needed to try something different and do a different behaviour.”
Football clubs have previously been involved in so-called social prescriptions.
In 2019, Championship side Portsmouth FC ran a “Men’s Kitchen” club for men who were recently divorced or bereaved and suffering from social isolation.
Sheffield United put on walking groups for fans struggling to get out of the house, while Bristol Rovers organised a kickabout for supporters with anxiety.