RELEASED academy footballers should be offered improved mental health support, the British Psychological Society (BPS) says.

Of the 10,000 children currently in academies, fewer than 200 will go on to become professional footballers.

The BPS is calling for psychological support to be mandated across all academies at professional clubs, including the women’s game, and urged the FA, Premier League, and EFL to provide additional funding.

Chair of the BPS’s division of sport and exercise psychology Stephen Smith said: “Many academy footballers have spent most of their young lives putting in thousands of hours of training, chasing a dream, only for it to be cut short when released from their contract.

“At worst, we’ve seen young people turn to crime, self-harm and suffer great psychological trauma. This must not be allowed to continue.

“There’s a postcode lottery for support when young boys and men are released from football academies and the story may well be similar for the girls’ game.

“Although Premier League clubs are known to work well in this area, support gets considerably patchier the further you move down the pyramid due to a lack of resources.

“It is vital that psychological support is embedded in academies for boys, girls and young men and women right from the outset.

“Co-ordinated investment from the FA, Premier League, and EFL would go a long way to helping lower league clubs grow their psychological workforce and give academy players the support they need.”

Cambridge midfielder Dominic Ball said that being released from a club as a teenager can be “traumatic.”

The former Rangers and QPR player said: “If you are between the age of 15-19, to be told that you aren’t good enough to make the cut and your dream is over, it can be really traumatic.

“Once you are let go, the clubs move on and although players have found something else that’s when the issues really start.

“You go from training and playing all the time, trying to pursue your dream of making it as a pro footballer, to suddenly being in a totally different sector. It’s hard to adjust psychologically.

“All clubs should really provide aftercare support for players until they are settled into their new way of life, whatever that may be. They should have a duty of care.”

The campaign follows the death of former Manchester City academy footballer Jeremy Wisten, who took his own life in 2020.

Smith added: “The tragic death of Jeremy Wisten was a wake-up call for the Premier League.

“Aftercare programmes are of course welcome, but it is the implementation of early preventative measures that create the most resilient player possible and would be the most effective route for clubs to introduce.

“This can only be achieved with funding from the very top.”