ARENA SPORTS SHOW | PSL clubs must prioritise the issue of mental health

Arena Sports Show highlights that mental health is back in focus for elite athletes, with renewed calls for Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs to treat it as a priority. Clinical psychologist Boitumelo Mamiane and veteran administrator Khumbulani Konco argued that psychologists should be mandatory within PSL club structures to help players manage the pressures of top-level competition and wider societal expectations. Konco said some leading teams do not have a psychologist, emphasizing that the role must be club-dependent to handle players’ confidentiality needs. Mamiane and Konco urged urgent attention, comparing a psychologist’s place in a club to that of a physiotherapist in the backroom staff. They discussed the issue during the 113th episode of the Arena Sports Show with host Clauiee Grace Mpanza and Mahlatse Mphahlele, citing Konco’s experience as CEO of Gymnastics South Africa and past roles at Bloemfontein Celtic and Chippa United.