Tarik Kaidi Founded Minds United After 2013 Detention Under UK Mental Health Act

The Dream World Cup began in 2016 and has been held in Osaka and Rome. Organisers are preparing for the next event in Peru, with the date yet to be confirmed. The first Dream Euro Cup was held in September 2024.

The International Football Committee on Mental Health was founded in 2013 after psychiatrists and social health workers from eight countries signed a Tokyo declaration committing to sport for mental-health inclusion. The committee is chaired by Italian psychiatrist Santo Rullo. Osama Jaw, a 28-year-old diagnosed with schizophrenia, attends Minds United sessions.

He said six years of daily gym work have left his mind clearer and his body less dependent on medication. “Exercise helps me organise my mind, both mentally and verbally; I feel less panicked,” he said. Daniel Workeye, a 32-year-old diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who has been sectioned seven times, reduced his weight from 160 kg to 117 kg after beginning to play football.

“I have made friends, I have lost weight, I get my hit of dopamine, to be honest if it wasn’t for playing football with everyone I don’t know where I would be,” he said. Keith Neville and Marc Gomez became friends after attending Minds United sessions. Jack McClaren, a vocational specialist with the NHS who previously worked at Broadmoor Hospital, brought patients to a session.

A UCLA study found that people who exercised regularly reported fewer poor mental-health days. 5 times more effective than counselling or leading medications at reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Aerobic exercise stimulates the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus.

Alexa Knight, director of policy and influencing at the Mental Health Foundation, stated that exercise releases serotonin and dopamine, improving mood and reducing stress and anger. She also stated that up to 45 per cent of UK adults and 30 per cent of UK children do not meet government physical-activity recommendations.

Kaidi still experiences manic highs and depressive lows associated with bipolar disorder.

Minds United sessions take place at a west London community centre with pool tables and an art corner. Mixed-ability football sessions are held under the Westway motorway underpass at London’s Westway Centre. Coping Through Football, Kick Start FC and Sport in Mind run similar programmes in Britain.

Former Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard has spoken publicly about struggling with depression and anxiety during his career. US international Christian Pulisic has publicly discussed his own mental-health struggles. Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke died by suicide in 2009 after concealing his depression.

All 20 Premier League clubs now employ dedicated player-care staff for mental and emotional wellbeing.