OPINION:
August marks the return of football across the globe, with new seasons kicking off in different leagues. From giants clashing in opening fixtures to underdogs upsetting defending champions, the anticipation is sky-high. Yet, alongside the excitement, anxiety grips millions of sports fans.
In Uganda and beyond, many supporters spend hours in sports betting houses, popularly known as Bibanda or on online platforms, staking on “profitable odds” without certainty of a win. The pressure is intense.
But betting is just one side of the problem. Across the world, fans of rival clubs often escalate from passionate arguments to placing money, property, and even livelihoods on the line. Losses have ended in tragic outcomes: suicide, domestic violence, stabbing, murder, attempted murder, school dropouts, and countless cases of depression and stress.
Religious and political leaders have repeatedly questioned why anyone would take their life or another’s over the loss of a foreign football club whose players do not even know the supporter exists, let alone where their country lies. Ironically, many of these same fans neglect their own local teams in favor of foreign clubs.
The aftermath of big matches is particularly dangerous. Financial losses quickly spiral into mental breakdowns and criminal acts, but the world seems to shrug and move on. Nobody is talking about shifting the conversation on sports and mental health.
Last year, a powerful story highlighted this urgency: Mathew Smith, a mental health advocate who lost his 19-year-old brother, Daniel O’hare to suicide linked to football, launched a 900 miles run across the UK, visiting every Premier League stadium. His goal was to raise £135,000 funds to create awareness about suicide prevention in his community, which records one of the highest suicide rates in England.
Not long before, in 2022, Premier League managers began initiatives promoting mental health awareness among players, officials, and fans, following a rise in suicide cases linked to football in Europe.
These issues are not confined to Europe. Similar tragedies have been recorded in Africa and other parts of the world, where betting culture, peer pressure, and emotional attachment to foreign clubs run deep.
According to recent studies, gambling addiction, particularly sports betting has been linked to rising suicide cases worldwide. In the UK, up to 8% of suicides are attributed to gambling, while problem gamblers are 15 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. In India, police recorded about 20 betting-related suicides last year, as helplines reported a 65% surge in distress calls from addicts. Uganda has also documented several betting-linked suicides, especially among students who lost tuition fees, with mental health experts warning that the country’s growing betting culture is fueling depression and suicide among youth. Broader regional insights note that in East Africa, youth gambling is widespread, with nearly 50% of young people exhibiting problematic gambling behavior, strongly associated with mental health problems and suicidality.
These figures reveal a stark reality: sports betting is a serious mental health crisis, not just a matter of personal loss or entertainment. Whether in Europe, the U.S., South Asia, or Africa – Uganda inclusive, the pattern is alarmingly clear: vulnerable individuals, often youths and men are driven to despair, with some taking the ultimate step.
So I ask: who is looking out for the fans? Who is teaching us that it’s okay for your team to lose, okay to walk away from a bet, okay to cheer without staking your life and dignity on the outcome? There’s an urgent need for better data, support systems, and public health interventions dedicated to betting-related mental health harm not only in Uganda but also in other parts of the world, especially as thousands may be silently on the edge. Sports fans need mental preparedness just as much as they need team loyalty. Without it, headlines of tragedy will continue to flood both mainstream and social media.
As the 2025/26 football season kicks off, the conversation must shift from “who will win” to “how do we protect fans from self-destruction.” Because while the games are played for 90 minutes, the impact on fans can last a lifetime. The heated arguments, and crushing losses are leaving families broken. We just don’t talk about it enough.
Football will always be here. Seasons will always come and go. Today’s champions will be tomorrow’s losers. But one life lost to this madness is one too many.
Sports, businesses that deal in gaming and lotteries, and the media that run sports betting adverts and distribute sports news can change the conversation. Less about odds and scorelines, more about mental health and resilience. Less about fighting for clubs abroad, more about fighting for our sanity here at home. The beautiful game should never be ugly enough to bury its fans.
By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
The writer is a Ugandan Journalist, Media Trainer, Advocate for Mental Health, SRHR, Drowning Prevention, and founder of Parrots Media
Email: info@parrotsug.com
