With the stigma surrounding mental health declining, the U.K. government has announced an action plan to assist athletes with these often overlooked health concerns.

The measures will be put in place to “protect the mental health of athletes,” while also providing support and training to coaches and staff to better recognize the signs of poor mental health and the tools to assist with these issues constructively.

The main goal of the plan is said to be an effort to stop athletes from reaching a crisis point with their mental health.

The plan has been developed in cooperation with both mental health organizations and sporting organizations with a goal of all elite sport organizations developing a clear mental health strategy by 2024.

A survey, conducted in February by the Professional Players’ Federation, found that more than half of the Federation’s former athletes had concerns about their mental health and emotional well-being.

The action plan comes in the wake of several professional athletes speaking out about their own mental health issues. The Former Professional Footballers’ Association chairman and Burnley defender, Clarke Carlisle, spoke out about his issues as did former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland in an interview with the BBC

Speaking with the BBC, sports minister Tracey Crouch said, “Over the past 18 months there have been a number of high-profile stars reaching crisis point – a point where they had to be sectioned or taken out of the game.” She went on to say, “What I wanted to do to is make sure we have the right interventions in place early on so they don’t reach crisis point. It is a good step forward to support elite sports stars in the future.”

Former CEO of the British Athletes’ Commission, Ian Braid, said, “The effects of living in a high performance environment constantly worrying about selection, funding, injury and struggling with their identity on transition can’t be underestimated.” He went on to say, “Dealing with athletes’ mental health was my biggest challenge at the BAC. I would hope the plan extends to cover a duty of care to coaches, sports support and administrators. The devil will be in the detail and the budget.”

While the action plan is still in its developmental stage it has outlined a goal of “promoting a high standard of mental health support in elite sport” while also ensuring that mental health support reaches the same level in sport that physical health receives.

The outline for the plan is as follows:

  • Training for performance directors, coaches and governing bodies on how to identify signs of mental ill-health and promote positive mental well-being.
  • A mental health pathway.
  • National Lottery funded athletes to visit mental health units to reduce stigma.
  • Sharing of best practice across the sport sector.
  • Improved mental health education and training.
  • An online resource and tailored guide to be produced.

The action plan is being developed in partnership with UK Sport, Sport England, player associations, The Sport and Recreation Alliance and the mental health charity Mind.

While this plan is currently contained to the UK, its development will hopefully spur more associations and leagues around the world to get involved in providing further support to their players as well as helping to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health worldwide.