Former Professional Footballers’ Association chairman Clarke Carlisle has called on clubs and governing bodies to assume greater responsibility for tackling mental health issues in sport.

Carlisle (pictured), who documented his own battle with depression in a documentary for the BBC last year, was speaking to mark the launch of a new report by the mental health charity Mind which found that a large number of athletes fear seeking help for their illness.

Sporadic bursts of publicity which followed the tragic deaths of Gary Speed and former Germany international goalkeeper Robert Enke need to be acted upon and manifested in a pan-sport approach to mental health issues, according to Clarke, who cited three common “trigger points” — signing the first contract, injury and retirement.

Clarke said: “One recurring theme I have found is that athletes kept things to themselves — they knew they needed help but were afraid to ask for it because they feared it would negatively impact their careers.

“You generally find that when someone is going through a serious mental health issue, third-party help is absolutely fundamental to them identifying what’s going on and seeking support.

“Coaches and managers need to be educated to the point where they see mental health issues not as a personal flaw in the individual, but as a bona-fide illness that needs treatment in the same way they would act if the athlete came to them with a calf strain.”

The Mind report Performance Matters: Mental Health In Elite Sport has called on governing bodies and community organisations across a broad range of sports to pool resources in order to create a mental health network accessible to athletes.

The report found that while players’ associations such as the PFA, the Professional Cricketers’ Association and the Rugby Players’ Association are being proactive in looking after athletes’ mental health, clubs could play a more leading role in tackling players’ well-being.

Clarke, who is fronting the campaign as a Mind ambassador, added: “The leaders in every sport seem to be the players’ associations which is magnificent but the employers ought also to be expected to take responsibility for the care of their athletes.

“This report does reflect and give kudos to a number of individual sports such as rugby league and cricket which are putting in significant mechanisms in order to support their athletes.”