Football for health: the emerging football community enhancing well-being across the UK

Abstract

For clinicians seeking an effective and low-cost form of exercise to support their patients’ well-being, the Footy Addicts platform presents a unique and compelling opportunity. With over 300 000 adults already registered across the UK—many from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities—this growing initiative has the potential to foster both physical activity and social connection. Football is the most popular and widely played sport worldwide and has long been established as beneficial for all aspects of well-being. Physically, it promotes cardiovascular fitness, builds muscular strength and supports the development and maintenance of a strong musculoskeletal system. Mentally, it improves resilience, focus and provides stress relief. Socially, it fosters friendships and involves leadership, teamwork and communication. The various health benefits of football are evident in the existing literature. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2019 found that participating in recreational football resulted in significant improvements in blood pressure, resting heart rate, fat mass and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.1 A more recent meta-analysis, published in 2024, found that football also had a favourable effect on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, fasting blood glucose and bone strength.2 In patients with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, recreational football practice led to improvements in fasting glucose, cholesterol, …