In want of a secure house: How Bengaluru FC goals to care about psychological well being

“The sport itself is a very result-oriented profession, so when you lose… it definitely puts you under immense pressure,” mentioned a pensive Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
The 28-year-old has been the frontline goalkeeper of the nation for rather less than a decade now and was pivotal in India’s historic draw in opposition to Asian champions Qatar within the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September 2019. In the Indian Super League (ISL), he has just lately gained two consecutive Golden Glove awards amongst many different accolades, which clearly exemplifies the extent of his success.
Despite all of the gold and the glitter of his profession, the Chandigarh-born has had previous situations of not with the ability to see himself within the mirror for days and crying alone after receiving verbal volleys from the gang. Because of such situations, Sandhu typically speaks as much as increase consciousness on the difficulty of psychological well being, particularly within the sport of soccer the place a sure stigma concerning psychological energy guidelines giant.
Supporting him, his membership Bengaluru FC has made ahead strides by just lately hiring a psychological well being practitioner. In line with the “Care Around the Corner” initiative, which was launched on World Mental Health Day in October final yr, the therapist goals to unlock the weighed-down minds of gamers in any means attainable.

The Blues had their first session with Anjana Kothamachu, an Expressive Arts Therapist with a number of years of expertise, who has joined because the membership’s on-call Mental Health Practitioner. #CareAroundTheCorner pic.twitter.com/ldXPoanKQc
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) December 30, 2020
Shedding some gentle on their marketing campaign, Bengaluru FC media supervisor Kunaal Majgaonkar advised indianexpress.com, “If I were to get into specifics of how the thought of the programme came about, it was after I put down the book ‘A Life Too Short’ — the biography of German goalkeeper Robert Enke who took his life after battling depression and mental health issues for six years.”
After consulting with membership CEO Mandar Tamhane, Majgaonkar set the wheels in movement for a well-researched programme that might develop season after season. As step one of the method, Bengaluru FC employed Anjana Kothamachu, initially an expressive arts therapist, because the membership’s psychological well being knowledgeable final yr.
The 2018/19 ISL profitable membership goals to carry a number of group classes in a bid to maintain “making the players comfortable with the subject of mental health”. The gamers and workers can attain out on to the knowledgeable for private session classes.
On the worldwide stage, psychological well being has bothered quite a lot of skilled footballers, starting from former England icon Paul Gascoigne to legendary Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. More just lately, gamers like Aaron Lennon, Bojan Krkic, and Jordon Ibe have opened up about battling sport-related stress.
Considering the taboo surrounding the difficulty, the Blues’ efforts to spearhead a marketing campaign to alter the tradition in soccer is certainly praise-worthy.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is the primary Indian to play within the UEFA Europa League. (Twitter/@bengalurufc)
The 2019/20 AIFF Player of the Year believes that the fixed strain of churning out outcomes for the staff typically adversely impacts the gamers on a psychological degree.
“It especially affects a team like us,” mentioned Gurpreet. “Since we are so used to winning and doing well every season… if things don’t go our way, we don’t necessarily know how to react properly. To be able to bounce back from back-to-back defeats is something that requires a lot of positivity and productive feedback.”
“As for the hate messages on social media, personally, I have stopped paying attention to it because it’s no good for my mental health. I am not interested in what people’s opinions are about what I have to do on the pitch. The only opinion that matters is that of the coaching staff and the professionals at the club.”
Ever since its begin in November final yr, the Indian Super League 2020/21 season has been going down inside a bio-secure bubble throughout three venues in Goa. So, is the interval away from acquainted smiles and recognized faces a factor to fret about?
“Being in a bio-bubble is an experience that is very much removed from anything in pre-COVID life… and the impact will surely vary. But some challenges are stress, anxiety, boredom; being stuck inside sometimes leads to feelings of isolation, and this along with being cut off from social contact can trigger emotional issues or bring back unresolved emotional challenges from past experiences,” mentioned Bengaluru FC’s Mental Health Practitioner Anjana Kothamachu.
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Adding solidity to the programme is the data share supplied by membership companions Rangers FC on the topic, who’ve their very own initiative referred to as “Care Team”.
“Rangers have been lending us expertise and our mental health expert has been in touch with their staff to see how best we can grow this programme. They will soon be conducting a session with the squad over a video call,” mentioned Majgaonkar.
“Bengaluru FC is completely committed to growing this programme over the next few months and CATC will most definitely be a permanent fixture. We soon intend to introduce this to our age-group teams too. We’re in for the long haul,” he added.
Even if it’s a small step, Bengaluru FC’s initiative is already an enormous leap in the best route to lift consciousness about psychological well being points in sport in India. Hopefully, different groups and franchises throughout all sports activities will even present assist to those that desperately want it throughout a time that places the phrase “testing” to the take a look at.