Leicester City manager Willie Kirk, who has worked in the WSL with Everton and Bristol City, believes there have been “huge steps forward” in mental health support in recent years.
However, Kirk admits the pressures on players have increased and support must continue to grow.
“There is more and more pressure on the players in terms of the amount of hours we want them [to work], the outside world looking in on them, the media coverage, the commercial pressures,” added Kirk. “They’re being pulled from pillar to post.
“There is a lot more placed on players and that means there must be a lot more support wrapped around them. Speaking on behalf of Leicester, we do that every well.
“We monitor not just their performance on the pitch, but how they’re living off it in terms of their sleep, their menstrual cycle, their mood and their eating habits. We put as much care around the players as possible.”
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall, who joined the WSL club in 2021, said it was “very much down to individual clubs” to address mental health support.
“We put just as much emphasis on that as any other part in the game,” added Eidevall. “I think we have good resources, we have clear pathways, and a good understanding of how to deal with that. At Arsenal we prioritise it.”
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner, meanwhile, said clubs need to “keep exploring” ways to care for players in an ever-changing environment in which players need “a spectrum of support”.
Bristol City head coach Lauren Smith, who managed the team in the second tier before achieving promotion, said the club were also “very much tuned in” with mental health support, regardless of what representation was available to players.
“It’s absolutely at the forefront of what we do and have been doing for years and still will be – it’s very important,” added Smith.