FC Mindwell, the team where ‘You will never feel alone’

When Keith Gillespie (2/18/1975 Larne, Northern Ireland) hit rock bottom calling it ‘Black Friday’. He just lost £47,000 gambling in one day. Gillespie He was part of the famous ‘Class of ’92’ Manchester Unitedalso played in Newcastle and played 86 games with the national team Northern Ireland.

On 1 October 2010, he declared bankruptcy, admitting he had lost up to £7 million. He remembers that in the 90s, mental health problems were considered a sign of weakness, no one helped him get out of the hole and clubs did not have any protocol to help players in critical moments.

A response to Covid-19

Therefore, when Brian Adair He contacted him and explained to him a new concept of the club, he did not hesitate. In April 2020, a group of friends were concerned about the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 on community mental health in the counties of Armagh and down (Ulster, Northern Ireland), established the FC Mindwell to provide shelter for former and active players with mental health problems.

Some studies have shown that in the society that emerged after the ‘Troubles’ conflict between Catholics and Protestants, there were between 20% and 25% more people with mental problems than in the rest of the world. United Kingdom. One in five adults in Ulster has been diagnosed with a mental health problem.

Adair It was explained that “Men don’t usually open up to say and share their feelings, but football and sports have the ability to unite people in the face of adversity.”

The main goal

The ball runs across the grass and a middle-aged man hits it to score the first goal of the afternoon. He celebrates and hugs his teammates. Scream like there’s no tomorrow. From the outside, no one would say that a few months ago he fell into a spiral of despair close to suicide. Among other team members there are those who have experienced anxiety, another lack of self-confidence due to job loss, another due to a personal loss, another due to a traumatic divorce, alcohol problems or gambling Although not everyone who wears a yellow coat with a lion crown on their chest carries suffering. There are some who feel identified with the philosophy of FC Mindwell and they are the support of their colleagues.

Football gave them a purpose to lace up their boots for a Saturday afternoon on the pitch. St. Patrick’s College of Banbridge (county of down).

Gillespie He said that “training and playing football is always a release from other things.” He added that “in today’s society, mental health is one of the biggest issues and building a football club to bring people together and offer support to anyone going through difficult times is a fantastic idea I want to support.”

Next to Keithalso supported the club as ambassadors, the former goalkeeper of Northern Ireland and of united, Roy Carroll and the former goalkeeper of Liverpool, Chris Kirkland.

In the Mid Ulster Football League

He FC Mindwell It currently consists of a single team. Consisting of 25 people between 20 and 35 years old from the county (not all with mental health problems), it performs in Division 1 of the category of Mid Ulster Football League (MUFL), a multi-group seventh division affiliated to Northern Irish Federation soccer. First in the classification, they have the possibility to climb to Intermediate B. The failure they face will look for a field conditioned to play this higher category accepted by the Federation.

Links Counseling Service, key partner

Sean O’Neillchairman of MUFL since June 2011 and secretary of FC Mindwellserves World of sports and explains that the club is working with the company Links Advisory Service, its main charity partner. They allocate a portion of the revenue from the collection, after taking in enough to cover their own operating expenses as a club, to this organization that provides therapeutic support to the community and players with the goal of preventing health disorders of thought to happen. They had a relationship with Links and a long-term commitment to Laura Wylieexecutive director, because mental health doesn’t understand football seasons.

‘No one travels alone’

Furthermore, he tells us O’Neillthat the club is registered in its laws in Charity Commission in Northern Ireland and perform many actions and events to introduce themselves in social centers and schools, with Gillespie leading the way, to raise awareness about the importance of mental health along with the physical health benefits of playing football.

There’s a reason why the club’s slogan, which reflects the core of its existence, is ‘You’ll never feel alone. No one travels alone.’