By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation of the International Football Association (FIFA) has announced a collaboration with Calm, the top app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation, to raise awareness of the symptoms of mental health conditions and promote action for better mental wellness in the football industry.
The sponsorship will make Calm the official mindfulness and meditation product of the FIFA World Cup 2022, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and FIFAe Nations Cup 2023, starting with both parties joining forces to bring tools to support mental health to the global football community ahead of Qatar World Cup which will kick off on November 20.
As part of the collaboration, all players, coaches, and training staff participating in both the men’s and women’s World Cups will receive free Calm subscriptions to help them prepare for matches. Also, the FIFA workforce and the thousands of volunteers who support and facilitate the biggest football events on the planet will be privy to this.
In order to ensure that the entire global football community has access to Calm’s mental wellness tools, fans will receive 50 per cent off subscriptions via exclusive offers prior to the FIFA World Cup 2022 and other FIFA events.
Speaking on the partnership, Mr Andrew Massey, FIFA’s Director of Medicalpointed out that “Mental and physical health are equal partners in the combined well-being of a person, and care for both must be seen as integral in caring for the footballing family.
“As a sporting community, we need to create an environment that better supports mental well-being and mental health. The well-being of footballers at all levels of the game has always been and will always be the top priority of FIFA, as can be seen with this collaboration.”
Joining his input, Mr Fergal Walker, Calm’s VP of Partnerships, said, “We’re proud to team up with FIFA, bringing mental wellness tools to the global football community.”
“This is just the beginning of our work together, and we’re excited for what’s to come as we integrate mental health into football, for players, for staff, and of course, for the fans.”
FIFA noted that it is committed to using football as a tool to support mental health globally through its #ReachOut campaign, designed to raise awareness of the symptoms of mental health conditions, encourage people to seek help when they need it, and take action every day for better mental health.
Globally, Calm has helped countless members find an overall boost in their mental well-being – be that from better sleep or an increased sense of mental health. Calm user studies have proven the effectiveness of Calm content – 84 per cent better mental state, 81 per cent less stress, and 73 per cent better sleep quality reported by regular users of the app.
In addition to the Calm subscription offer, Calm and FIFA will collaborate on creating mindfulness content intended to help members of the football community “find their calm” on matchdays and beyond.
This will feature a series of webinars and online educational sessions aimed at the football community, including FIFA’s 211 member associations, exploring how mindfulness is crucial to the well-being of high-performance athletes, gamers, the workforce, and fans.
FIFA and Calm will be inviting any professional within the game which has struggled with mental health to come and be part of this unique collaboration.
Dipo Olowookere