In 2020, a survey by the Professional Footballers\u2019 Association (PFA)<\/a> showed that 55 per cent of players released by professional clubs experienced clinical levels of psychological distress. The standout conclusion was that symptoms of distress frequently increased in the weeks and months after release.<\/p>\n It is estimated that 10,000 boys are in academies in the United Kingdom. Fewer than 200 are expected to become professional players. Experiencing shock and disappointment on that scale, which can pose existential questions to boys who have only ever known or wanted to be a footballer, is traumatic. They suffer the news in their formative years, when they have not truly matured as a person.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we deal with it (planning for life after football) very well in the sport,\u201d said Gareth Southgate, on the Rest is Politics: Leading podcast. \u201cWhat a player does not want to hear is: \u2018You might not make it\u2019. Let\u2019s think about how you might prepare for the other part of your life because it\u2019s coming at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n The British Psychological Society (BPS) says improved mental health support for released academy footballers is needed now more than ever and has called for protocols to be put in place, such as additional funding to assist with three appointments with an HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council)-registered sport and exercise psychologist.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the routine,\u201d says Natalie Wood, Shrewsbury Town\u2019s head of academy player care. \u201cA player has so many routines, so it\u2019s the shock of that vanishing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can feel like death to the player when something is taken away. It\u2019s about mitigating that and making sure they have good routines in place \u2014 they\u2019ve got football trials<\/a> elsewhere lined up, they have people they\u2019re close to speaking to them and they\u2019re busier than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \n A questionnaire, created by Wood, allows players to share their thoughts and worries<\/p>\n \u201cIt is particularly harsh approaching the scholarship years,\u201d says an academy director, who has spent more than a decade working in the Premier League but has agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, as they are not authorised to do so. \u201cThere will be immediate help, but a year down the line, when the initial flurry of interest from other clubs hasn\u2019t produced anything, it can be very difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cThe heartbreak of being told \u2018no\u2019 is a lot for the player and parents to bear. It\u2019s a massive blow that stays with them for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of times I\u2019ve sat across from the table with someone whose mindset is completely different from what we\u2019re about to tell them,\u201d adds Eastleigh Under-19s scholarship coach Jason Brookes. \u201cThey\u2019d be in floods of tears and absolutely devastated when I tell them they\u2019re being released.\u201d<\/p>\n Cruelly, there are pertinent, tragic examples. In late 2018, Jeremy Wisten, then 16, was told he would be released by Manchester City<\/a>. As is often the case for players who miss out on scholarship forms, Wisten was able to stay at the academy until the end of the season. He spent the next six months trying to find another club, yet a knee injury added extra toil and impeded his chances of finding somewhere else.<\/p>\n Everything he worked for and sacrificed had vanished. Wisten stopped playing football and became more withdrawn. In October 2020, aged 18, Wisten was found hanged at his family home in Manchester, with the coroner recording a conclusion of suicide.<\/p>\n Other released footballers speak about their identity evaporating. The sport and club that had now left them had become so inextricably linked to who they were and what friends, teachers and sometimes family would associate them with. Without football, who were they now?<\/p>\n Football had given Matthew Langton self-confidence and a purpose<\/a>. He came through Derby County\u2019s academy before being released at 16, but signed for Mansfield Town, where he completed a scholarship programme.<\/p>\n Close friends began recognising a difference in Langton. On reflection, his mental health was deteriorating. After his release from Mansfield aged 18, Langton was living back at home and fell into depression, isolating himself from friends and only leaving his room reluctantly.<\/p>\n In February 2021, Langton died by suicide, aged 20. The post-mortem toxicology showed he had not been drinking or on drugs. Instead, Langton had the symptoms of a dissociative disorder known as derealisation, which can make sufferers feel disconnected from the world around them.<\/p>\n It is December 2025. Boys from under-16 academy groups have a date for a meeting with coaches. Most learn whether they will be offered a scholarship and a two-year contract, or be released. The many years of dedication and fixation on becoming a footballer boil down to this.<\/p>\n \u201cFour boys have not been offered a scholarship in our under-16s,\u201d says the Premier League academy director. \u201cThat final discussion was with their parents last week and player care is now involved in putting player packs together to advertise to other clubs. But it\u2019s only the bigger academies that have those resources. It\u2019s difficult to do that if you\u2019re a lower-tier academy and you\u2019ve got half a dozen full-time staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Eastleigh\u2019s senior side compete in England\u2019s fifth tier, the National League. They have a handful of full-time staff, with no set player-care programme \u2014 not because people at the club lack understanding or desire, but because of funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the resources to provide released players with anything,\u201d says Brookes. \u201cSome clubs provide coaching qualifications, but we have to get help from the FA or somebody who can allow us to run those courses. If you had a two-year scholarship at Bournemouth down the road, they would help get your FA Level One coaching badge. But we can\u2019t offer that at National League level. We hope boys find a club so they don\u2019t stop playing football, because so many of them just stop.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had meetings where I\u2019ve said to my bosses, \u2018What more can we do?\u2019. I wanted us to provide them with something that can help when they leave. Originally, I started clipping their footage throughout the season and compiled some highlights.\u201d<\/p>\n \n A player care journal given to Shrewsbury\u2019s youngsters (Shrewsbury Town FC)<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout the year, I\u2019ve been planning for the under-16 releases,\u201d Wood says. \u201cI\u2019m building a player care plan. This includes finding out if they\u2019ve got agents, putting their profile on the front of a booklet, and then their profile will build, detailing their strengths as a player. They will already have their extended BTEC diploma, so all that information will be in there.\u201d<\/p>\n In Wood\u2019s view, ensuring players have alternative career aspirations before being released can mitigate the aftershock.<\/p>\n In November, Wood delivered a \u201ctransition and aftercare\u201d presentation to players, showcasing last year\u2019s age group and what can be learned. One example was Cam Morris, a player who left in 2024 and has since played in Australia, Indonesia and Dubai. Wood got the under-16s to create a personalised aftercare plan, including what other career they wish to pursue, before working on a CV. Answers ranged from being a physical education teacher to serving in the Marines or coaching in Europe.<\/p>\n \n Wood\u2019s \u2018wellbeing wheel\u2019, giving players a chance to share how they are feeling. Since the interview, Wood has partnered with a consultancy, The Player Care Group, to revamp the wheel and take it to other clubs<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had external motivational speakers and I\u2019ve done a workshop with parents,\u201d says Wood. \u201cThat cooling space after being released is really important, but keeping the relationship open and then reaching out is even more so. I\u2019m checking in with ex-players and we have an alumni group chat, with every former player in it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe certainly try to prepare them quite early on for the realities of the game,\u201d says Southampton\u2019s former academy director Matt Hale. \u201cWe\u2019re constantly talking to them about a plan B and how important the education they\u2019re getting at their school is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter they are released, I\u2019ll give them and their parents time,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cI do the initial check-in the day after, and then the next week, and then normally around summertime. I\u2019ll give them the summer to not think about football \u2014 I\u2019ll say, \u2018If you need anything, message me at any time\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had one boy who\u2019s at Deloitte doing an apprenticeship. If we can get boys back in any capacity, working, coaching, or as a strength and conditioning (S&C) intern, I will do it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a kid called Zak who did a personal trainer\u2019s course and we helped him through that. The PFA (Professional Footballers\u2019 Association) funded half of it. He is going to come in and do S&C for the younger boys.\u201d<\/p>\n In June 2022, guidelines were passed by the Premier League requiring all 92 Football League clubs to give a three-year \u201ccommitment of support\u201d to academy players released between the ages of 17 and 21.<\/p>\n \u201cI was speaking to the boys the other evening and they were asking us to help them with job opportunities outside of football, so the aftercare is improving,\u201d says Wood.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been involved in a research project with Loughborough University, from under-nines to under-16s. The conclusion explained that players feel so many pressures throughout a day \u2014 the pressures of school, when they come into football and the pressure on the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cSo clubs need to allow them to breathe and build friendships. When I asked the players about that, they were saying things like bowling, team bonding activities, such as biking, barbering, or carpentry skills, would be really good to do.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a greater responsibility on clubs to provide a duty of care to released players. Preventative measures, which can help soften the shock, are a priority. The importance of showing life after football, even if headstrong young footballers may not think it at the time, is part of the curriculum at English Football League (EFL, tiers four to two)\u00a0 and Premier League clubs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst part of my job is when you have to release someone,\u201d says Brookes. \u201cThey come upstairs in the restaurant and one after the other, have a 10-minute slot. We will just say, \u2018Yes, you\u2019re going to be offered a contract\u2019 or, \u2018No, but thanks for your years with us\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cSome will be crying their eyes out. They think it\u2019s the be-all and end-all. Last season, out of 21 players, no one got a pro contract. We had to go through them all in one day, which was so tough. Some had been with us from the under-12s, and we told them there on the spot. That was the hardest thing. They\u2019re not prepared for it, because their only idea is to play football.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the view that we need to look after our players from eight to 88,\u201d adds Hale. \u201cIf we can help by putting them on another course or trying to find another club, even if they\u2019ve been released by someone else further down the line, then perfect. They know they can contact us any time.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Image-09-02-2026-at-17.13.png\")
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