With NSW back in lockdown, we thought it was the opportune time to catch up with Mr P FC’s, Peter Regan, whose club centres around men’s mental health.

Many of those playing in the Association may have seen the Mr P logo or perhaps seen them play over the weekend and be left wondering, who is that team?

Well, one of the Association’s newest clubs could definitely be described as one of its most unique in the competition. Born out of an idea one night at the pub, Mr P is a football club that focuses on men’s mental health and is affiliated with charity organisation, Mr Perfect.

Video: Co-founder of Mr Perfect, Terry Cornick, talking to Sunrise during Men’s Mental Health Week

The story of how Mr P FC began is unlike most clubs. Peter Regan was having a few drinks one evening with a friends, namely Terry Cornick, who opened up to his mates about his mental health battles.

“Terry had been writing an anonymous blog about his mental health struggles called, Mr Perfect. We were in the pub one day and he brought it up to me that he’d been seeing a psychologist, he was really sheepish about it. It was me, this other guy and him there at the time,” Regan said.

“I said to him, ‘I’ve been seeing a psychologist for years. The other guy said that he’d seen a while a go as well. I used to live with him for six months and we had no idea that each other were battling mental health conditions.

We left it on that and then he came back a few weeks later and said, ‘I think we can do more about this. We’ve got our support network but there are others out there who don’t.’ So, we decided to run a football kick around in the city. The first one we had 14 blokes there, then on the second or third one people keep coming back and we started to think we can make a team out of this.”

Their dream became a reality as they joined the Sydney Amateur Football League (SAFL) and played out of Bark Huts Reserve in Belfield. However, the SAFL soon folded and they were left stranded before CDSFA offered them a place in the association.

“They [CDSFA] accepted us as a guest club. Bark Huts was perfect for the Association, so let’s go with it,” he said.

“In the first season we went really well, so the next season we had so many people asking if they could join. So we got a second team going and we started in division 5 and 6 and that was the start of the club.”

Image: Mr P FC after celebrating charity round with their specially designed socks. Supplied

Football was not the only thing on their agenda as they still looked to centre themselves around assisting in the men’s mental health space.

At first, they had meet ups at pubs and brought psychologists down however they soon realised that many not be the best choice of location given what they were trying to address.

“It was good but then we realised that doing it in the pub probably was not the best idea and then the second one we did at a coffee shop but it’s another stimulant. Then we were looking across the road from where we were having coffee and saw this beautiful park with all these barbecues,” Mr P’s president said.

“That’s an idea, let’s run a barbecue and we ended up doing one a month.”

Image: Mr P FC. Supplied

Making the football club financially viable was something that they initially found difficult, that was until a major sponsor jumped on board to help them out.

“We knew that we were going to struggle with finances so we started approaching every company, every club and then we hit gold. We reached out to a few RSL’s and then Strathfield Sports Club got back to us and said they’d be interested,” he said.

“They have been our sponsor for five years now. It’s our social club, we go back there after our games, we’ve run charity and five-a-side competitions there. The guys there are absolutely excellent.

So right now everything is stable, we’ve got a home ground in Bark Huts, we’ve got our social location at Strathfield.”

That being said, they are still a relatively unknown entity across the district and Peter and his Mr P teammates are constantly being asked questions by the opposition about their side.

“A lot of clubs ask what Mr P FC is about. I’ll explain it to them and then one of the coaches or players will say that’s brilliant.”

“Everyone always relates to it straightaway.”

Having a lasting effect on their members

There have already been a number of players who have been and gone through the club but there is one player in particular that Regan will not be forgetting anytime soon.

“We had a really emotional story. We had one guy who went back to the UK and said if it were not for your football club, he wouldn’t have had anything else.”

“Our football club was all that he looked forward to during the week. He didn’t love his time in Australia but he said if he did not have the football club, he wouldn’t have had anything.”

There was also a case of another Englishman who was struggling with mental health and actually decided to start his own charity upon his return to the UK.

“We gave him some frameworks and asked if we could help in any way. He’s now started his own charity, Men of the Hill. So it’s seeing the work we do filter out which is quite amazing.”

Image: Pete Regan (right)

The future of Mr P FC

To put it plain and simple, Mr P FC has a bright future. The hierarchy are looking to add two women’s teams to their club as well as eventually enter the O/35 competition.

“I want to get an over 35’s because I know that will organically happen. I want to get a women’s team as soon as possible because I’ve been told that changes the club dynamic and that’s a great thing to have.”

“Looking forward I’d like to get another coach in and if he wants to add kids then that’s up to him or her.”

Regan left CDSFA with something to ponder, something which he has been trying to achieve for some time.

“I don’t really see any clubs mix. After a match I’d love to see the two sides come together and I’d like to invite them back to the club to have a drink. This happens in other countries like England, if you get along with the opposition you invite them back to your local.”

“Right now there does not seem to be a lot of integration between clubs. I keep on saying I’m going to try change that but I have never got around to it and COVID hasn’t helped.”

Like every team, COVID has not helped the club who were only able to field two teams instead of three this season but they will be aiming to bounce back stronger come 2022.

Regan would also like to thank co-founder Peter Cornick as well as Alex Savvides, Jake Hyde, Rob Battersby and Tom Ferguson, all of whom have been integral to Mr P FC’s success both on and off the park.

To find out more head to Mr P FC’s Facebook page here.

By CDSFA Communications Officer – Samuel Greco Schwartz