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July 28, 2023
The US Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) and Common Goal – which works to unite the football community for good – have teamed up to ensure mental health is a focal point during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (FIFAWWC) and beyond. Led by USWNT defender Naomi Girma, the initiative includes a collaboration with Fox Sports (America’s English-language home for FIFAWWC) on a range of public service announcements (PSAs) airing during the tournament and a feature series. After the tournament, the initiative will focus on equipping players and coaches with tools to address mental health issues and needs.
In an op-ed in The Players’ Tribune, Girma details that her motivation to launch the mental health project came after losing her Standford University teammate and best friend, Katie Meyer, to suicide. According to research, 35% of elite athletes suffer from a mental health crisis. Student-athletes continue to report elevated levels of mental health concerns, with rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression remaining 1.5 to two times higher than pre-pandemic levels.
“We know first-hand how many people, especially student-athletes, are struggling in silence and we want to use our platform in this huge moment for something bigger than soccer,” said Girma. “We don’t want this to end simply at awareness. We want to make sure that young people have the tools to cope with depression, anxiety, stress and the very bad days when it feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders and it can never get better… It can always get better.”
The initiative is a call to action for healing across the sport, from professional to grassroots. In a collective video, USWNT stars Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith, Sofia Huerta, Julie Ertz, Alyssa Thompson, Alana Cook, Girma, Andi Sullivan, Megan Rapinoe and Trinity Rodman share their common goal for mental healing.
“The struggle isn’t always visible on the outside and that’s why welcoming vulnerability is so important,” said Smith. “I want to use my platform to help create positive change and speak more about something that so many people are struggling with in silence.
The mental health content series airing across FOX Sports’ on-air, online and social media platforms contains exclusive interviews with Girma, Smith and Huerta documenting the importance of mental health in professional soccer. Stories are paired with young female athletes across the US who are navigating their own mental health journeys. The series amplifies the work of Common Goal USA-based community organizations supporting young athletes in underserved communities and further highlights the importance of connecting the professional and the grassroots sides of soccer.
FOX Sports is the first and only national FIFAWWC broadcaster to take Common Goal’s 1% pledge, targeting 1% of its World Cup coverage through 2026 to telling the story of soccer for good across its platform. “It’s so powerful to see FOX Sports take the 1% pledge alongside so many of us athletes this World Cup. We hope this initiative sets a precedent across soccer that prioritizing mental well-being at all levels in the game is equally as important as maintaining one’s physical health,” said Girma.
Following the tournament, the initiative will support mental health professionals deliver training to over 15 youth sports organizations across the country to ensure that coaches and players have the tools and skills to know when someone is dealing with a mental health issue and how to help. The training will also extend to players from select NWSL teams to teach how best to integrate emotional well-being within their sporting environments.
“It’s long overdue that our soccer communities put mental health at the forefront when we discuss player care,” said Lilli Barrett-O’Keefe, Executive Director of Common Goal USA. “We are determined to create a culture shift, at all levels of the game, following this summer’s World Cup. We are grateful for the players that are pushing this narrative forward and holding us all accountable to not only talk but act.”
Organizations supporting this initiative include Founding Partner FOX Sports and its parent company Fox Corporation with support from Women in Soccer (WIS), E-Motion, football content and media company Footballco and its women’s football brand Indivisa.
WIS will help provide the coaches working in under-resourced communities access to the in-person program training. Following the conclusion of the training, all program participants–practitioners, players and coaches–will be welcomed into the Women in Soccer network to help sustain the engagement of the group. It will also create multi-media industry spotlights that showcase participants’ commitment to bringing mental health to the forefront of the game and hosting interactive networking events focused on mental health in the soccer industry.
Launching this Autumn, Beyond Sport is collaborating with Z Zurich Foundation and Zurich North America on a multi-year program to leverage sport to improve mental wellbeing for 13 to 19-year-olds in the United States. “Head in the Game” will bring together the US sports sector – community, collegiate and professional – on youth mental health, build a targeted Learning Community to engage at neighborhood, city and state levels and provide resources and training through a targeted awareness campaign co-created by our sister company thinkBeyond. Learn more here.
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