Overview

• Forest Green Rovers and Labour MP Dr Simon Opher are offering free match tickets and walking football sessions as a therapy for patients with mild or moderate depression.
• The scheme will operate across a dozen Stroud health centres where doctors and nurses can formally prescribe game-day attendance as part of social prescribing.
• The initiative aims to reduce isolation and complement traditional treatments in a region where 8.7 million people take antidepressants and suicide is the leading cause of death among men under 50.
• Owner Dale Vince highlights the club’s sustainability ethos in harnessing communal sporting experiences to strengthen mental wellbeing.
• Patient engagement and mental health outcomes will be monitored to determine whether the pilot could expand to other clubs and health systems nationwide.