More than two-thirds of A-League Women players were in psychological distress last season, including experiencing disordered eating, alcohol misuse or disturbed sleep, according to football’s players’ union.<\/p>\n
Matildas veteran Tameka Yallop said the stress of performing like full-time athletes without the commensurate pay packet and support contributes to the problem.<\/p>\n
Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) released its annual report for the 2024-25 season on Wednesday, pushing for full-time professionalism ahead of the next collective bargaining agreement in 2026-27.<\/p>\n
A mental health audit conducted in conjunction with FIFPRO showed 67 per cent of players had experienced sport-related psychological distress.<\/p>\n
Experiences of disordered eating (41 per cent), alcohol misuse (34 per cent) and disturbed sleep (28 per cent) were also prevalent.<\/p>\n
A-League mental health concerns revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Socceroos hero Andrew Redmayne sheds light on the stresses A-League players face after a report finds footballers are struggling with their mental health, substance abuse and job security issues.<\/p>\n “It’s obviously distressing to see and I think it’s a compilation of the stresses that we’ve been put under with the extension of the home-and-away [season] to full-time, yet still being part-time and still having other jobs,” PFA co-president Yallop said.<\/p>\n “Because once your football career is amplified as full-time, there are other expectations, and one of that can be body image.<\/p>\n “Because you’re meant to be fit, you’re meant to be playing all the time now, like this is meant to be your sole focus, when in reality, it isn’t. People are still having to work. People are still like scraping to pay bills and still have all those other pressures.<\/p>\n Do you have a story idea about women in sport?<\/p>\n