Health and Equality

FA Campaigns
The FA and LUFC endorse a number of campaigns to promote health and equality in football, including:

• Race equality in football
• Faith in football
• Disability and mental health in football
• Women and girls football
• LGBT+ football.

All of these can be accessed via The FA’s Equality webpage:https://www.thefa.com/inclusion-and-anti-discrimination

Mental Health and Wellbeing
The FA, along with other bodies in both football and sport, has signed the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation, which is a framework setting out how sport can use its collective power to tackle mental ill-health and the stigma that surrounds it.

The following is taken from the FA website:
The charter aims to tackle stigma using the power of sport and recreation, emphasise the benefits to mental health and well-being of an active lifestyle and to encourage the wider sector to showcase best practice and to make real progress in tackling issues around mental health. The FA continues to work collaboratively with a number of organisations in this field.

One in four people experience a mental health problem in any year, which mean there are millions of people involved in grassroots football experiencing a form of it in some way. It is important football clubs at all levels appreciate this and know how to include people with mental health issues. The FA, along with its partners across the game, is encouraging players, coaches and officials to be confident and comfortable talking about mental health in the same way that people discuss physical injuries.

Football is a great tool in aiding recovery, helps to manage symptoms and can radically improve the quality of people’s lives. Whether it is in mainstream, community football clubs, or in specialised sport and mental health projects, football can deliver massive benefits. There are three key ways that football can help:

1. Improving people’s mental health
2. Creating social inclusion
3. Helping physical health

To emphasise the above – and as part of the wider Heads Up campaign, The FA has produced a 36-page mental health guide for coaches and managers in the adult game. It’s been produced in partnership with Mind, and a mental health advisory group put together by The FA (attached).

https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/heads-up

Football v Homophobia
As a sport and industry, football continues to embrace and celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+) community and there is still more to do to stop these forms of discriminatory abuse that they experience.

Football v Homophobia (FvH) is an international initiative opposing homophobia in football. FvH runs all year round to enable people to take action against prejudice and discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity in football, and to celebrate and welcome diversity. The FA's Rainbow Laces campaign focused on promoting acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ+) footballers, with professional and non-League clubs donning rainbow coloured laces.

Liphook United Football Club is proud to be inclusive and accepting of all members of our community.