What This Means
This research examines the unique mental health challenges faced by players and their support teams when competing in the FIFA Men's World Cup. The authors, a group of sports medicine and sports psychology experts, argue that the World Cup creates an unusually high-pressure environment because it combines multiple stressors at once — including intense media and public scrutiny, living away from home for extended periods, disrupted daily routines, cultural unfamiliarity, and the risk of online and in-person harassment. These pressures affect not just the players but also the coaches, doctors, psychologists, and other staff who work with the teams.
Rather than reporting results from a single experiment, this paper synthesizes existing research and expert opinion to produce practical recommendations organized into six areas: building supportive team environments, setting up proper mental health support systems at the tournament, monitoring player wellbeing, addressing violence and harassment, accounting for cultural differences, and specifically attending to the needs of support staff. The authors note that the 2026 World Cup, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, presents particular challenges given its multi-country format.
This research suggests that major sporting tournaments like the World Cup require advance planning and dedicated resources for mental health — not just physical health — of everyone involved. It highlights that support staff are often overlooked in these discussions, and that cultural awareness and protection from online abuse are important components of any comprehensive mental health strategy for elite football tournaments.