On Monday 16th January, we were joined by Darren Sarll and Charlie Wakefield at Woking FC for a conversation around mental health awareness.

Woking Men’s First Team Manager, Darren and current Yeovil FC player Charlie spoke candidly about their own experiences with mental health and the challenges they have faced both personally and professionally within football. We were joined by over 30 Coaches, Match Officials, Club Welfare Officers and Club Volunteers from Surrey and neighbouring counties, who listened intently and posed some brilliant questions to continue the conversation about mental health.

Helen Ogle, our Workforce Football Development Officer, had the following to say:

“I would like to express our gratitude to Darren and Charlie for sharing their own stories so openly and to John Katz and Woking Football Club for their support in hosting us for the evening. It was an inspiring, powerful and moving conversation, and I’m looking forward to working with Darren and Charlie in the future. I hope that providing a platform as we did on Monday will help people feel more comfortable in openly sharing how they are feeling and not hesitant to reach out for support”.

Thank you to everyone that attended on the night and kindly donated as part of the entry fee. In total, we raised £150, which we will be donating to the mental health charity, Mind.

We recognise that we are on a journey. We have made progress, but there is more that can be done to drive mental health awareness across football and society in general. With that in mind, we are exploring future opportunities which will help to continue the conversation throughout the season and beyond.

Keep a look out on our social media channels for upcoming events, as well as the dedicated section on our website, which lists all forthcoming coach development opportunities we are hosting in Surrey by following the link below.

COACH DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health please follow the link below to find some charities who are best placed to support. 

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT