Sophie Howard on Mental Health and her engagement with Common Goal
Finley Chung and Lily Young
In the latest episode of the Beyond the Pitch Podcast, we were joined by Sophie Howard, defender for Leicester City FC and the Scotland National Team. Howard discussed her engagement with Common Goal, the player-led initiative, and shared insights into how she became involved with the organization. We also explored her career and had an open conversation about Mental Health and the growth of Women’s Football.
Sophie was raised alongside a twin sister and an older brother, both of whom were actively involved in the sport. She reflected on her early experiences alongside her brother, tracing the origins of her journey in football.
“It’s two separate answers, whether you ask me about your journey in football or in Women’s football. I started playing football when I was five years old, I idolized my older brother and he played football, so I wanted to play football. I played for an all boys team as there were no girls teams in my area.”
From diverse football backgrounds, Sophie’s career has taken her stateside to Hoffenheim, Reading and Leicester, alongside earling 41 international caps for Scotland. With countless miles traveled throughout her career, Sophie has experienced women’s football from various perspectives and cultures around the globe.
“When I started playing, the German League was the best, but for me, now, the best league in the world is the WSL”
“When I was in the US, you were an athlete before you were a football player and I think that has changed massively. All across the world, it’s a technical, tactical game of football rather than how quick you are, how strong you are.”
For the past five years, Sophie has been an active member of Common Goal, a player-led charitable initiative dedicated to leveraging football as a tool to address and alleviate pressing social issues. Sophie credits her former Scotland teammate, Jane Ross, for introducing her to Common Goal, an opportunity for which she remains thankful for.
“It was actually my former teammates, Christie Murray and Jane Ross. They came out to Spain to speak to us about it. It was a no brainer, but Jame herself was also quite passionate about using football as a change so it didn’t take much convincing.”
Her role at Common Goal has integrated seamlessly with her position in the Leicester squad, where she is recognised as one of the more seasoned professionals.
“Here at Leicester, my work with Common Goal links to what I do with the community, I am so so proud of the community I have built with Leicester City as a club and as a community.”
Sophie has candidly shared her past struggles with mental health, which nearly led to her to abandon her football career. She raised no qualms speaking openly about these challenges and how the approach to supporting players with mental health issues has evolved over time.
“If I am going to be honest, there wasn’t really any support when I started. You were left to your own devices.
“At Leicester, we are so privileged. We have a performance psychologist, a safeguarding and welfare officer and we have access to clinical psychiatrists if we need it.
“Seeking that help doesn’t mean that you are broken, I would love to get away from that image. It doesn’t mean you are a broken person or you can’t play football. I want to get away from it being seen as weird. I think the more people talking about it, the easier it will be for people to understand.
“Myself, two years ago, I had to speak to a clinical psychologist. That shouldn’t be frowned upon and it shouldn't have to feel weird speaking about it.”
Despite facing difficulties, Sophie has successfully navigated the obstacles in her path and now feels in a more positive place. Nonetheless, she continues to advocate for the same messages of support she wished she had received earlier.
“I’ve completely changed in that sense. I have lifted all the weight and I feel free again. The fact I carried that weight for so long almost made me feel sick to be honest, because as you know, the longer you carry it, the harder it is.
“I am in a happy place, work wise, football wise but also in my personal life, I have the best connection with my family.”
Sophie also emphasized that players of all ages can experience difficult times, not just the younger ones
“It’s not just younger players, of course. Look at me, I was 27,28 when I was going through s**t”
“What you rightly said, they are people, people with emotions, not just footballlers. My brother is so passionate about this, be kind to the people around you because we don’t know what they are going through.”
Finally, Sophie discussed the progress of women’s football in England, reflecting on her six years of experience playing in the country with both Reading and Leicester.
“Girls now have role models to look up to, I never had that when I grew up. THe investment has increased, whether that's commercial deals, broadcasting deals, the investment has gone up loads.
“Don't get me wrong, we still fight every single day to be accepted as female footballers, we just do. We a;,ost have two jobs, we play football and then we fight for the game to be accepted. We can see a massive shift in society, hesitantly sometimes, but they are beginning to accept Women’s Football as more an elite athletic sport rather than just a fun game in the shadow of men’s football.”
We extend our sincere gratitude to Sophie for joining us on the Beyond the Pitch Podcast. We wish her continued health and success in the upcoming season.
