For sake of their health, we must get kids playing
ROBBIE SAVAGE writes in the Express to explain why he called on the Government to reveal when they are going to find a way to get youngsters back on the football field
IT’S time to speak up for thousands of kids who want to play football again.
The mental health of young people is a vital investment in our future as a nation.
And that’s why, in Mental Health Awareness week, I decided to ask Health Secretary Matt Hancock, below, on behalf of every footballer under 18: where is the pathway for junior and parklevel football being able to restart?
I have been involved in football all my life but I have never been more concerned about the future of the game.
I live in a household with two teenage boys
– one at a Premier League club academy, and the other who plays for a grass-roots team on Sunday mornings.
Two months of lockdown has had a negative effect on them because they are frustrated at not being able to play.
Being involved in an academy with 2,500 kids, I can feel the frustration growing.
I talk to lots of academy coaches and I am aware of parents who are at the end of their tether because their sons and daughters are feeling virtually imprisoned by the strict rules.
When will the Government and the FA allow one-on-one coaching in line with social distancing and safeguarding measures? I understand we needed to lockdown when the pandemic was tightening its grip.
I understand that it was necessary for all sports, including football, to shut down in the wider interests of public health.And I understand the need for safeguarding of youngsters under 18.
But surely it is in the national interest, not least for the mental wellbeing of our kids, that they are able to play football again – even if it’s just training one-on-one with a coach for an hour each week?
It’s important that the professional game returns as soon as possible – and, most importantly, when it is safe to do so. Former Premier League footballer Marvin Sordell warned of a possible “tidal wave” of young footballers suffering from mental health problems in the fall-out from this pandemic.
And that’s why I’m standing up for all the youngsters who want to play football.
Yes, let’s beat this virus.Yes, let’s observe the rules. And yes, let’s make sure it’s safe to play again.
But if kids are allowed to play golf, tennis, athletics or go fishing, surely there is a way to accommodate football as well.
That’s why I wanted to ask a question at yesterday’s Downing Street media briefing.
Come on, Minister, let the kids play.