ANT LEADING A UNITED BID FOR MENTAL HEALTH PUSH
KIDSGROVE Athletic captain Anthony Malbon is encouraging more footballers to talk about their mental health.
The forward recently spoke about his personal battle for the first time on the club’s podcast and, since then, has been invited to become the manager of a Sunday League side, promoting men’s mental health.
“It’s been an unbelieable response,” he told The NLP. “I’ve now started running a team that supports mental health called Men Unite. Their slogan is ‘You’re not weak if you do speak’. It’s spot on.
“The problem with men is that they feel that they have to be macho, and not show their softer side, they don’t open up to different people and sometimes opening up to a stranger is better than opening up to nobody.
“We have a Facebook group with more than 12,000 members from all over the world and, what is going on in that group is people open up and, they have what they call brothers, who will try and help you and guide you through the tough moments you are going through.”
Also involved in Men Unite is Port Vale’s Colombian winger Cristian Montano, as an ambassador.
Montano too has recently spoken about his mental health issues and Malbon believes the former West Ham youngster is a great vocal point for the team.
“A lot of footballers go through it and don’t want to talk about their mental health,” Malbon added.
“Some clubs are put off signing a player who has come out and said they’re in a dark place and I think that is such a shame.
“Look at Cristian. He has been brave enough to come out and tell his story and now he is playing well in League Two for Port Vale. Maybe if their season had carried on then, we’re talking about a player who potentially could be playing in League One next season.
“For him to come on board and talk about his struggles and go on Sky Sports News to open up and become an ambassador of this group, it’s massive for us in getting it out there. If more footballers can open up and spread the word, then it will change the football side of things.”
Every person who suffers from mental health has their own story to tell and Malbon is no different. “It was just before I left Kidderminster Harriers, the last two months of the 2013-14 season,” he recalls.
“I wasn’t going to training. I was going to Manchester every day for counselling with the PFA, which Gav Crowe, the Kidderminster physio, sorted out at the time.
“I was going up there most days for one to one sessions because I was in a dark place, and I can’t tell you why I ever felt like that and I never understood it.
“It was before all the big groups started and, a lot of people have got help since then, but at that moment in time, I couldn’t tell you why I felt like that. I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t want to see people, I felt miserable, hated myself and hated everything.”