Introduction

The mental health of elite athletes is a topic that has received increasing attention due to a growing awareness of the impact of poor mental health on athlete life-course and performance. It has been proposed that athletes may experience additional mental health risk factors compared to non-athletic populations, such as high training loads, intensive competition and potentially stressful lifestyles. The growth in reporting of athlete mental health-related problems has led to sport psychology professional bodies publishing recommendations for athlete welfare. Of late, United States media outlets have been inundated with current and former elite athlete accounts of battles with mental illness. In terms of the propensity of sporting environments to breach safeguarding norms, the culture within English professional football is a case in point. In recent years, the reputation of football has been significantly impacted by allegations of historical sexual abuse attributed to an institutional culture of power and control.