Matt Beard's Family Urges Weekly Mental Health Checks for Managers After 47-Year-Old's Suicide
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 12
Matt Beard's Family Urges Weekly Mental Health Checks for Managers After 47-Year-Old's Suicide
5 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 12
Debbie Beard and son Harry said football should require weekly, tailored mental health check-ins for managers after Matt Beard died by suicide in September aged 47.
The family said Beard masked past emotional struggles, faced intense job pressure and online abuse, and deteriorated after leaving Burnley and being placed on three months' gardening leave.
Debbie said managers should not have to ask for help in a high-pressure profession; the League Managers' Association said it already offers confidential counselling and sees a need for better education on warning signs.
Beard won back-to-back Women's Super League titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014 and will be inducted into the WSL Hall of Fame next week, underscoring the shock his death sent through football.
With the NFL now mandating on-site mental health staff, why is English football still debating basic support for its managers?
A manager's suicide was linked to 'gardening leave.' Should this contractual tool be reformed to protect mental health?
Matt Beard’s Tragedy and the Push for Systemic Mental Health Reform in Football Management
Overview
The ongoing inquest into the death of former football manager Matt Beard has revealed that he passed away at the Countess of Chester hospital due to a hypoxic brain injury, with hearings currently taking place at Ruthin County. In response, Burnley FC, where Beard had a brief but promising tenure, acknowledged the ongoing legal process and stated they would not comment further. The situation has prompted Beard's family to raise concerns about the pressures he faced and to call for mandatory mental health checks for football managers, highlighting the urgent need for better support in high-pressure sports roles.