Chris Eagles talks about the importance of speaking up ahead of the Mental Health World Cup
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Credit: Mental Health World Cup
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The Mental Health World Cup returns to Loftus Road this Saturday, 11 May.
Set up by Giancarlo Gaglione in the wake of his brother's passing from suicide in 2012, the Mental Health World Cup is now the UK's leading 5-a-side tournament for the fight to prevent suicide.
Hosted in coordination with the QPR Trust and Beder FC, this year will be the 12th instalment of the tournament which has become a key fundraising event to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention.
The tournament is also supported by CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), and alongside the 48-team competition, there'll be talks and stalls set up to discuss mental wellbeing with trained mental health professionals.
There'll be opportunities for friends, families, and spectators to participate in training and challenges on the Loftus Road pitch, as well as an auction to raise funds for charity.
The day will conclude with an 11-a-side charity match between a host of former professional footballers and influencers from Chris Eagles to Yung Filly.
Former Manchester United, Burnley and Bolton winger Eagles spoke exclusively to the Hounslow Herald about why he chose to take part in the Mental Health World Cup.
"I know what it's like (to suffer from mental health). I had a stillborn eight years ago, and I didn't really deal with it.
"I think it's really important to talk about it (mental health), and the Mental Health World Cup is a good way people can get it out there and let people know that you can talk (about mental health)."
For Eagles, football has always been a powerful tool to drive conversation and create bonds and having been around the beautiful game his whole life. He knows first-hand the positive impact sport can have on a person's mental wellbeing.
"I've always been in football. It's helped me with everything - to make friends, to speak without even talking.
"Now I'm not involved in professional sport, every day I do something because I know it helps me."
Eagles started his professional career in 2003 and says that he wishes the support that's there for players now was around when he was playing. With Trent Alexander Arnold recently announcing 'The After Academy' which seeks to give help to players dropped from professional academies.
Eagles moved away from his family in Hertfordshire to join Man United at 14, and he says that whilst he didn't recognise it at the time, these moments build up and can have a detrimental effect on a person if not dealt with properly.
"Coming away from my mum and dad, my brothers and sisters, I didn't find it difficult at the time because I was going to play for Manchester United. But looking back, it definitely impacted me.
"When I was there (in the professional game), there wasn't loads (of support). They did come in and say, 'Listen we're here, here's my card'. But at the time, my focus was on football."
That external focus from a young age on the expectations of the professional game. Winning, losing, being selected to start meant Eagles never took time to reflect on what life would look like once football stopped being the priority, and by the time he came out of the professional game, it felt like he was starting over as he readjusted to a life without the structure football offered.
"It's like you're beginning again because I always had a structure - be here, train there, recover, and coming out of it not having that it was a real struggle, and I never talked about it."
Eagles, having initially found it hard to adapt to life outside the professional game, has found solace by keeping up regular exercise and reintroducing the structure that served him so well during his career.
"I learnt with exercise, it's a way of dealing with my moods."
Eagles says his struggles are by no means comparable to those dealing with diagnosed mental health issues. But his experience is a useful reminder of how far the conversation around mental health has come.
Players are now beginning to take control of their own narrative around their mental health. Delle Alli's interview with Gary Neville on the Overlap a poignant reminder that nobody really knows what's going on inside someone's head.
Richarlison has also spoke candidly about the weight of expectation he's felt as a professional footballer. Whilst Norwich City's powerful video on World Mental Health Day explored the idea that those who are suffering don't always show these feelings outwardly. A message that resonated with fans across the world.
Although people are becoming more comfortable discussing and managing their mental wellbeing, the impact of events like the Mental Health World Cup in spreading awareness and funding mental health initiatives can't be overstated, with the conversation around mental health constantly evolving.
Set up by Giancarlo Gaglione in the wake of his brother's passing from suicide in 2012, the Mental Health World Cup is now the UK's leading 5-a-side tournament for the fight to prevent suicide.
Hosted in coordination with the QPR Trust and Beder FC, this year will be the 12th instalment of the tournament which has become a key fundraising event to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention.
The tournament is also supported by CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), and alongside the 48-team competition, there'll be talks and stalls set up to discuss mental wellbeing with trained mental health professionals.
There'll be opportunities for friends, families, and spectators to participate in training and challenges on the Loftus Road pitch, as well as an auction to raise funds for charity.
The day will conclude with an 11-a-side charity match between a host of former professional footballers and influencers from Chris Eagles to Yung Filly.
Former Manchester United, Burnley and Bolton winger Eagles spoke exclusively to the Hounslow Herald about why he chose to take part in the Mental Health World Cup.
"I know what it's like (to suffer from mental health). I had a stillborn eight years ago, and I didn't really deal with it.
"I think it's really important to talk about it (mental health), and the Mental Health World Cup is a good way people can get it out there and let people know that you can talk (about mental health)."
For Eagles, football has always been a powerful tool to drive conversation and create bonds and having been around the beautiful game his whole life. He knows first-hand the positive impact sport can have on a person's mental wellbeing.
"I've always been in football. It's helped me with everything - to make friends, to speak without even talking.
"Now I'm not involved in professional sport, every day I do something because I know it helps me."
Eagles started his professional career in 2003 and says that he wishes the support that's there for players now was around when he was playing. With Trent Alexander Arnold recently announcing 'The After Academy' which seeks to give help to players dropped from professional academies.
Eagles moved away from his family in Hertfordshire to join Man United at 14, and he says that whilst he didn't recognise it at the time, these moments build up and can have a detrimental effect on a person if not dealt with properly.
"Coming away from my mum and dad, my brothers and sisters, I didn't find it difficult at the time because I was going to play for Manchester United. But looking back, it definitely impacted me.
"When I was there (in the professional game), there wasn't loads (of support). They did come in and say, 'Listen we're here, here's my card'. But at the time, my focus was on football."
That external focus from a young age on the expectations of the professional game. Winning, losing, being selected to start meant Eagles never took time to reflect on what life would look like once football stopped being the priority, and by the time he came out of the professional game, it felt like he was starting over as he readjusted to a life without the structure football offered.
"It's like you're beginning again because I always had a structure - be here, train there, recover, and coming out of it not having that it was a real struggle, and I never talked about it."
Eagles, having initially found it hard to adapt to life outside the professional game, has found solace by keeping up regular exercise and reintroducing the structure that served him so well during his career.
"I learnt with exercise, it's a way of dealing with my moods."
Eagles says his struggles are by no means comparable to those dealing with diagnosed mental health issues. But his experience is a useful reminder of how far the conversation around mental health has come.
Players are now beginning to take control of their own narrative around their mental health. Delle Alli's interview with Gary Neville on the Overlap a poignant reminder that nobody really knows what's going on inside someone's head.
Richarlison has also spoke candidly about the weight of expectation he's felt as a professional footballer. Whilst Norwich City's powerful video on World Mental Health Day explored the idea that those who are suffering don't always show these feelings outwardly. A message that resonated with fans across the world.
Although people are becoming more comfortable discussing and managing their mental wellbeing, the impact of events like the Mental Health World Cup in spreading awareness and funding mental health initiatives can't be overstated, with the conversation around mental health constantly evolving.
Tickets for the Mental Health World Cup are still available and can be purchased here: