Is there anything more profoundly good for you than a kick about with your mates?

***There’s a wave of unprescribed well being released from the sheer joy of booting a football around a park, or a set of garages, or a garden, that just seems to put the world right for a while.***

Photography: Andrew Forsyth

But as we age, these opportunities seem to become fewer and fewer, work commitments, the hassle of organising and declining physical condition means that accessing the sheer joy of casual football becomes more difficult.

That’s what Mental Health United are trying to put right. Set up during the lockdown, Tim Allen, its founder, felt that football wasn’t readily available for those not at the level of Sunday League but who still had a desire to play. The aim was to provide a safe environment where anyone of any ability could come along and enjoy a kick about for an hour.

The idea behind it was to create a tonic for the times, a football therapy - an opportunity for anyone to come along, regardless of ability, and leave their life at home for a while.

The sessions are led by volunteers and participants often chat about their week, their thoughts and their struggles in an informal and welcoming environment. “The group knows that if any of us need to we can all talk to each other or one of the session leaders about anything that might be on our minds” Greg, who’s been playing for the past 9 months, told us.

“I was nervous to start with, I hadn’t played in a long time and even when I did play I was never the most gifted, however my worries were quickly put to rest and everyone was so welcoming. The benefits on my physical and mental health have been very positive… it's a good way to socialise, make new friends, and have a kick about at the same time.”

The organisation is growing with three weekly sessions in Lancing, Hove, and their looking to expand, but the emphasis remains on diversity and inclusion. The teams are mixed with a varying range of age and ability. “It does not matter if someone is good or bad at football, the sessions are open for all. We have some fantastic players, but we also have some that are just playing football for the first time. There is no looking down on anyone, we are all there to help each other.” Dan, who hadn’t played football for ten years before joining MHU, told us.

MHU was formed during the lockdown where the absence of Albion games left a lot of us struggling.The subsequent resumption gave us something to focus on and to shut everything else out for a while, much like MHU are trying to achieve.

Naturally one of the main topics of conversations at MHU sessions is our beloved Brighton. “A lot of us are Albion fans so there is a common interest there, we will all have a chat about the last game, the next South American wonder kid coming through or whichever player Chelsea seem to want to buy that week” Dan said. “For me it's great to have both the Albion and MHU in my life, and I hope that will continue for a long time.”

“There are a lot of Albion fans in the group … everyone gets the same level of encouragement (we’ll even let P****e fans join up!)” joked Greg.

MHU recently held a charity tournament at Lancing FC’s Culver Road where twenty teams took part raising over £1650 for charity Grassroots Suicide Prevention. There was a team made up of dads who have all been affected by the loss of a premature baby, along with some who are based on more general support and one comprised of refugees.

Their aspirations are now to become a fully funded charitable trust, allowing them to expand their sessions, reaching more people across the community more regularly.

More information can be found at: www.mentalhealth united.co.uk/football-therapy

Thanks to Ian Schiffer, Greg Binstead and Dan Proctor (@DTP_14 on Twitter) for talking to us.