Changing Room to launch with 21 clubs
Written By SPFL Trust Media Centre
We are delighted to reveal that Scottish football’s flagship mental health project, The Changing Room, is to be rolled out at 21 different clubs this season.
The Changing Room is delivered in partnership with SAMH, the SPFL Trust and associated community trusts and SPFL clubs. It supports men in their middle years, through a 12-week programme which uses the power of football to tackle poor mental health.
It comes as the Scottish Government announces four of the community trusts will deliver an extended version of the programme to be called, The Changing Room – Extra Time. A grant of £100,000 has been awarded.
The Extra Time initiative will provide an opportunity for individuals to explore specific areas that often challenge them including how they view themselves, think and feel – all of which impacts on their mental wellbeing.
The Changing Room is funded by Movember Foundation’s Social Innovators Challenge.
Associated community trusts and SPFL clubs delivering The Changing Room are: Aberdeen, Albion Rovers, Alloa, Annan Athletic, Clyde, Cowdenbeath, Dundee, Dunfermline, East Fife, Falkirk, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian Livingston, Montrose, Morton, Motherwell, Peterhead, Queen’s Park, Rangers, Ross Country, and St Mirren.
Of this group, Aberdeen (AFC Community Trust), Heart of Midlothian (Big Hearts), Hibernian (Hibernian Community Foundation) and Rangers (Rangers Charity Foundation) will deliver Extra Time.
Our operations manager Fiona Taylor leads on The Changing Room for the SPFL Trust.
Fiona said: “The Changing Room has been one of the most powerful through sport intervention programmes we’ve seen in Scotland. It’s been recognised globally through Movember’s Social Innovators Fund, and we’ve seen locally the impact it has had on those who have been part of it.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that The Changing Room will be rolled out at 21 community trusts and their associated SPFL clubs. Projects like this don’t just help the here and now, they help change the future by helping to remove stigma and encourage openness.
“The Changing Room Extra Time brings together the expertise of SAMH and our brilliant community trust partners to deliver something which we know men are looking for; interaction, safe spaces and friendship. What better place to provide this, than in the sanctuary of a club’s changing room?”
SAMH chief executive Billy Watson welcomed today’s news.
“We’re delighted that the Scottish Government is funding The Changing Room – Extra Time, which will provide people with an opportunity to focus on resilience and self-care by exploring areas that often challenge them,” he said.
“It can be a struggle for many of us to talk about how we feel, and football is a really powerful way of bringing them together and encouraging them to open up.
“The Changing Room pilot projects have shown the difference the right support can make. Extra Time is a result of the value of this unique form of support being recognised not only by our pilot partners, but now also the Scottish Government and our new football club partners. Together, we’ve designed this expanded programme to fit the needs of people across the country, and we look forward to starting the next chapter of The Changing Room.”
Minister for Mental Wellbeing Kevin Stewart believes in the power of football.
“Mental wellbeing has never been more important especially as we continue to deal with the ongoing pandemic and I am pleased to see this programme grow and develop.”
Details of each participating club’s involvement in The Changing Room will be announced by them in the coming weeks.