The use of acceptance and commitment therapy for stress management interventions in football

Stressors have been reported to occur in a wide variety of competitive sports, including football, with numerous positive and negative outcomes. Nevertheless, what is apparent in elite sport is that the demands faced by individuals often require intervention to optimize well-being and performance. The aim of this chapter is to focus on elite-level players’ experiences of stress and describe these within the theoretical framework of acceptance commitment therapy (ACT). A brief hypothetical case is presented to showcase some typical performance issues related to stress in a young emerging player at the age of 18 years. This is followed by a brief overview of stress in competitive sport in general and more specifically in football. Subsequently, the theoretical model of ACT is described together with some specific applied interventions aiming to enhance performance and well-being.