Why sports are a great play for mental wellbeing

Sports have the power to transform lives. How can we harness that power to help young people connect to their communities and boost their wellbeing?

Your mind is the architect of your day. It shapes your self-esteem, your resilience, and your ability to connect with others. Ultimately, your mental wellbeing stands as a cornerstone of your happiness and quality of life.

But in the last decade, there have been more and more challenges to keeping mentally well. We’ve weathered economic fluctuations that impact our jobs and our home lives, alongside global crises like the pandemic and climate change, which continue to take a toll on our mental wellbeing. This is especially true for young people, who are still learning how to navigate life’s inevitable peaks and valleys.

Worldwide, the youngest generation is growing up to be lonelier and more anxious than their predecessors, and less likely to seek professional help. So how can we help young people shape a better future for themselves?

With over half the global population under 30 years old, across a spectrum of backgrounds, languages, cultures and abilities, it’s no easy feat. For meaningful systemic change that can help young people worldwide, the Z Zurich Foundation looked to something that transcends borders, barriers and boundaries. Sports.

Sport as a vehicle for change

With sport’s place in society and local cultures, its unifying power, and its unique ability to transform mental wellbeing at large scale, it can be a catalyst to create positive impact and transform lives. With the right design and support systems, sports programs are efficient vehicles to help reduce stigma, inform emotional literacy in their sport environments and encourage change in their community more broadly.

As a strong connector between people and even nations, sport helps develop strong support ecosystems, and can be a cementing element in society, creating safe spaces for young people to discover themselves and reach their full potential. Moreover, it can be a catalyst for young people to learn about their emotions and how to speak up about how they feel in their respective sport -- and in life more widely.

Recognizing the immense potential of sports as a catalyst for change, the Z Zurich Foundation is powering up three successful sports mental wellbeing programs: Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) in Australia and Ireland, and Head in the Game, a program kicking off in the USA.

Building youth wellbeing worldwide through sport

In Ireland, TYF collaborated with Rugby Players Ireland to help people become more active and increase awareness of their mental wellbeing. With its high-school program, the campaign takes a classroom-based, teacher-led approach to develop life skills and help students learn how to understand their feelings and manage stress, while building self-esteem and creating community bonds.

Explaining how the culture of sports can translate off the field, Ireland player Tadhg Furlong said, “We work a lot on — if you are feeling boxed in, if you’re feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders... It’s about talking to your teammates. It makes a massive difference.” Since its inception in 2015, TYF has spread awareness and built resilience skills in schools across Ireland.

In Australia, Tackle Your Feelings was formed together with the Z Zurich Foundation, the AFL Coaches Association, AFL Players’ Association and Zurich Insurance in 2018, after the tragic death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh three years earlier. In 2024 alone, TYF Australia worked with 180 community football clubs across the continent, supporting more than 4,500 program participants (players, coaches, and committee members) and delivering 180 community workshops. Since 2019, the program has directly impacted more than 10,000 participants and positively impacted more than 400,000 Australians. 

Speaking about the importance of the program, Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador, and former AFL footballer, Dylan Buckley said.  “Community football clubs are beginning to understand the responsibility they have to their members, to create an environment that prioritizes mental health and promotes conversations so that someone who is struggling feels comfortable to ask for help. TYF is delivered by a psychologist and aims to provide players, coaches and committee members with an opportunity to build these skills and have a shared conversation about mental health that continues on after the workshop.”

Across the Atlantic, Head in the Game (HITG) has launched in response to the growing youth mental health crisis in the USA. As a collaboration between the charity Beyond Sport, the Z Zurich Foundation and Zurich North America, HITG aims to use sports at all levels to improve mental wellbeing for 13-19-year-olds, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable communities.

“The Head in the Game program harnesses the power of sport to deploy a system-level change approach for youth mental wellbeing in the US. The sport clubs we partner with, through their coaches, offer a safe space for adolescents to speak up about how they feel, break down stigma about mental health and act as agents of change for their community,” explained Sofyen Khalfaoui, who leads the Z Zurich Foundation’s Improving Mental Wellbeing pillar. “Together with a dedicated prevention campaign, we are here leveraging the transformative and destigmatizing power of sport to change attitudes and behavior toward youth mental wellbeing, driving sustainable impact from the ground up.”

On the cusp of adulthood, today's youth face mounting challenges. At the Z Zurich Foundation, we believe there's no better time to equip them with the tools they need to succeed. Through sports programs, we foster youth’s confidence, resilience, and a sense of community – transforming their win on the field into a win for the future of their community.