LONDON, Oct 11 — A United Kingdom (UK) pilot scheme offering live football matches to support mental health has been praised, with the green energy tycoon behind it calling on the Premier League and the English Football League to support the initiative, reported PA Media/dpa.
The so-called “Football on Prescription” programme has seen general practitioners (GPs) recommend live football matches to help people with mild to moderate depression and other less severe mental health conditions over the past year.
The scheme was introduced at fifth-tier Forest Green Rovers in Gloucestershire in August 2025, backed by Labour MP and general practitioner Simon Opher and Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and owner of the club.
The club welcomed participants to its match against Hartlepool on Saturday, which coincided with World Mental Health Day.
The initiative forms part of Opher’s efforts to promote social prescribing, which involves offering patients with mild to moderate depression alternatives to antidepressants.
He has previously prescribed comedy and gardening, amid concerns about the over-prescription of antidepressants.
Patients receive free match tickets and are welcomed by regular fans before kick-off.
In its latest figures, the National Health Service (NHS) said 9.1 million patients had been prescribed the drugs in 2025-26, an increase of 3.1 per cent.
Women accounted for more than two-fifths of those prescribed the drugs. The proportion rose to 71 per cent among those aged 15 to 19.
One participant is Sarah Bartlett, a teacher who also cares for her 89-year-old mother, who has multiple sclerosis and is recovering from cancer.
She said: “I was feeling rather overwhelmed, lonely and at the end of my tether. I love my mum dearly, but it can be really, really taxing.
“I wasn’t really aware of a lot to help people who were in my position in the area, and I went to my doctor in desperation and said: ‘I can’t cope, I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how I’m going to keep looking after my Mum.’”
Bartlett was offered nature-based activities, art or talking therapy with other carers, but the Liverpool fan jumped at the chance to watch Forest Green with her son.
She added: “It was just enough of a lift to really make a difference, and it did make me feel that actually I can still do some things while I’m effectively still looking after mum.
“It was nice to be able to spend some time together with my son, to see different faces and chat to different people, a change of scenery, feel something a little bit more than you know your day-to-day, pedestrian stuff.
“It breaks the routine, and it felt like much more than a few hours away.”
Dozens of people have taken part since the start of last season.
Opher said the scheme was being put on a “repeat prescription” after the partnership was renewed.
He said: “As a GP for 30 years, I have witnessed first-hand the impact that effective social prescribing can have on improving mental health and overall wellbeing.
“I’m really pleased that participant testimonials from last season were so positive, and I’m confident we can take the learning from the pilot forward into this new season and continue to deliver meaningful outcomes for participants.
“For the first scheme of its kind in the world, it’s a good start and we are hoping this year to build on this.”
Vince praised the positive impact football has on his own mood. He bought the club in 2010 and has since turned it into the world’s first vegan and carbon-neutral football club.
“Winning is a wonderful feeling. Playing well is a great feeling,” he said.
“You have all the emotions, it’s like watching a pantomime, when you get players behaving badly, the referee making an odd decision, and the crowd behave like it’s a pantomime. It’s such fun, honestly. Win, lose or draw, I love the game.”
Bartlett and the organisers called for the scheme to be extended to clubs across the English Football League and the Premier League.
The Premier League’s Together Against Suicide initiative was launched in 2025 and aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health conditions and provide support.
However, the league did not say whether it would introduce the football-on-prescription scheme.
Vince said: “Why can’t we roll this out across all the top leagues of English football? Football was created out of community, football clubs sprang up as community ventures. It wouldn’t cost a lot for every club to offer a few tickets.”
Opher said: “With male mental health and suicide still a major health concern, schemes like these should be rolled out through lower-league clubs that tend to be at the heart of their communities.” — Bernama-PA Media/dpa
