Drake Football Study: Players on mental health

Ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, FIFPRO caught up with Finnish current and former players taking part in the Drake Football Study to hear their perspectives on mental health and wellbeing.

Launched in 2019, the Drake Football Study is a 10-year project tracking the physical and mental health of around 170 men’s and women’s footballers – beginning during their playing careers and transitioning through to retirement.

"This study is important because you get to express yourself in a way that you are not able to otherwise," Järvenpään Palloseura midfielder Keaton Isaksson said of the study.

Dani Hatakka, who serves as the Finnish player union’s Chair of the Board after hanging up his boots in 2023, reflected on how perceptions on mental health have changed within football in recent times.

He said: "I played professionally a little more than ten years, so when I started mental health wasn’t really an issue that was even mentioned. It is good that it has been identified more, also in our actions with the Football Players’ Union of Finland. But I’m sure there are still a lot more things to be done."

Akim Sairinen, a defender for Turun Palloseura, believes the data currently being collected on Drake Football Study participants will help the players of tomorrow.

He said: "I really believe that it gives a lot of information for the players and for the guys who are making the study to avoid injuries, avoid mental problems. The most that I have learned from the Drake Study is how my mental health has improved, how my way of thinking has changed. When you are more calm, no stress in your head, it [positively] affects straight away to the pitch."

Timi Lahti, the Finnish player union’s contact manager, played professionally for 13 years at top-flight clubs such as Haka, HJK, VPS, FC Lahti and IFK Mariehamn, as well as having stints in Italy with Padova and Belluno.

"When I was starting my professional career in 2007, the atmosphere was totally different: if you had any problems, the players wanted to keep them inside and we didn’t talk about those kinds of things. But now the atmosphere is much more open. The players are willing to seek help if they are feeling some kind of problem and I think that’s a good thing."

Unmasking mental health symptoms in men's and women's football

Mental health findings from the Drake Football Study published last year on men's and women's footballers revealed one in five women’s footballers experienced disordered eating over a 12-month period.

Of the 74 women’s players surveyed for this sub-study, 55 percent reported sport-psychological distress during the 12-month period (consistent with athletes across elite sports), while three percent reported substance misuse.

Coordinated by FIFPRO, the Drake Football Study is seed-funded by The Drake Foundation and supported by Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Mehilainen (Finland) and Push Sports (The Netherlands).

FIFPRO Medical Director Prof Dr Vincent Gouttebarge is the project lead together with Prof Dr Gino Kerkhoffs, chair of the Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine department at the Amsterdam University Medical Centres.