Medically Verified By: Ms Ruta Mhapankar
Watching football improve mental wellbeing (Image: AI Generated)
Football is more than just a sport for millions of people around the world. Football can evoke strong emotions and bonds between you and your competitors, your mates and family, and you and your television crew. Seeing football can stir the emotions and create the connections to your favourite clubs, your friends, or your family, and to the people in your convinces. In fact, psychologists now suspect being a football fan has a positive effect on mental health. This is also known as the "fan effect.
Football can serve people a sense of belonging, excitement and emotional release, according to mental health experts. A team ensures fans feel a part of a bigger community, as they support a team. Fans, whether watching a match their own club or an international event such as the FIFA World Cup, can feel unity and decrease loneliness and isolation.
According to Ms Ruta Mhapankar, Psychologist, Sr. Counsellor, MIT-WPU, "There is a link between social connection and how football can have a positive impact on the mental health to one of its biggest causes. Watching matches with friends, family or fans of the team encourages social interaction with others and can help reinforce relationships. Even vids of people relating or discussing it on social media platforms can make people feel part of a community."
"Football also serves as a temporary solution to relieve from the stress of everyday life. Fans are engrossed during a match, with an inability to focus on work stress, negative thoughts or personal concerns. This kind of healthy distraction is great for many in relieving stress and elevating moods," she added.
Football can also stimulate the "feel good" chemicals in the brain that may include dopamine and endorphins. These chemicals are associated with enjoyment, happiness and drive. "Uh-uh, that's priceless" or "the team won an important tournament" can be moments of great happiness and positive emotional experiences for fans.
Interestingly, some studies indicate emotional involvement in sports has a side benefit of giving people a sense of purpose and routine. Match day is often an exciting time for most fans, and they will discuss their team's strategy and follow them up daily. The fact that this routine anticipates and supplies delight can be an invaluable help for a person with boring or lonely days.
But, psychologists caution about balance, too. Football can be a good fandom in terms of mental wellbeing but there is a fine balance and too involved with a team can cause stress, anger or negative emotions when losing a game. It's best to play the sport in a healthy manner, and not let the results impact personal relationships too much," experts suggest.
The mental health professionals quote the value of connection, enjoyment and shared experiences. Having a positive attitude when watching football can be a fun social gathering that helps relieve stress, boost mood and create a memorable experience.
The "fan effect," or emotional effects of the sport, shows the benefit of how football is bringing emotion to a whole new level, experts say. For many others, cheering on a team is something more than entertainment, it's comfort, excitement and even community.
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