This book examines the interplay between mental health and elite sport. It provides a foundational understanding of mental health, by introducing some of the challenges that elite athletes can face during their careers and offers some recommendations that can be used to help support the mental health of athletes.

Richard Elliott is Associate Dean for Sports Business and Management at University Campus of Football Business (UCFB). He has spent more than twenty years researching the lived experiences of elite athletes and the environments in which they work. An advocate for mental health literacy, he has developed a number of successful education programmes designed to support the mental and emotional well-being of elite athletes.

1 Introduction

2 Mental health

3 Environment

4 Transitions

5 Youth athletes

6 Foreign athletes

7 Female athletes

8 Conclusion