Calacus Monthly Hit & Miss – Dele Alli & Victoria CWG
Every month we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the last few weeks.
HIT - DELE ALLI
Over the past few years there has been a growing movement to raise awareness for mental health struggles, driven by high-profile athletes themselves.
In recent years, tennis superstar Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open in May 2021 while Simone Biles sat out several events at the Tokyo Olympics.
These incidents have sparked a global discussion about mental health in general, but specifically in sports too.
Footballer Dele Alli signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2015 from MK Dons and quickly caught the eye with his exciting and creative talent. He was named Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Young Player of the Year in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.
When Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino was dismissed in 2019, it was a watershed moment for Alli’s career, when his mental health struggles began to spiral.
In a recent interview with Gary Neville for The Overlap, Alli (27) bravely opened up about his mental health struggles over the years, including childhood trauma and a sleeping pill addiction in recent years.
The interview attracted news headlines and a lot of positive responses from the football community.
Both Alli and Neville choked back tears, as the former recounted his childhood traumas and mental health battles and the impact this had on his career.
Alli revealed: “So, at six, I was molested by my mum’s friend. I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back. At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. An older person told me that they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike, so I rode around with my football, and then underneath I’d have the drugs, that was eight. Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate, a man.”
He admitted to a more recent addiction to sleeping tablets and troubles with alcohol: “I mean [my troubles have] been going on for a long time, I think, without me realising it – the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had.
“I mean I didn’t realise I was doing it for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever. The things a lot of people do – but if you abuse it and use it in the wrong way, and you’re not actually doing it for the pleasure, you’re doing it to try and chase something or hide from something, it can obviously damage you a lot. So, it started with that and then I got addicted to sleeping tablets…
“It’s hard to pinpoint one exact moment [when I started to feel that things weren’t right]. Probably the saddest moment for me, was when [José] Mourinho was manager, I think I was 24. I remember there was one session, like one morning I woke up and I had to go to training – this is when he’d stopped playing me – and I was in a bad place.
“I remember just looking in the mirror – I mean it sounds dramatic but I was literally staring in the mirror – and I was asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love. For me, that was heart-breaking to even have had that thought at 24, to want to retire. That hurt me a lot, that was another thing that I had to carry.”
In an article for The Conversation, Jonathan Este observed how this fear of rejection is especially challenging for players who have had a tough upbringing and could serve to compound mental health issues and wellbeing. Este concluded: “Clubs need to be aware of how these players may be affected by things [rejection] which may normally be perceived as “part of the game”.”
It has not been all support for Dele’s interview. His biological father’s family have come forward to dispute claims made by Dele. In an exclusive interview with OJBSPORT, a family member commented: “Dele was never adopted by anyone. At age seven, Dele attended one of the best schools in Lagos, Nigeria. He was never sent to Africa for discpline. That’s a blatant lie. He had a driver that picked him up daily from school.
“We have all the documents and pictures of Dele with his dad from when he was born as a kid. Dele has been brainwashed.”
However, his mother, in an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday demonstrated her support: “I have not been able to stop crying since I heard my son describe the abuse he suffered as a child.
“I had no idea he’d been molested. I’m so sorry. It breaks my heart to think that someone I allowed into my house might have betrayed my trust in the worst possible way.
“I cannot put into words how upset I am I no longer have contact with my son - and only hope I’ll have the chance to see him again.”
While former team-mates such as Harry Kane took to Twitter to support Alli: “Proud of @dele_official for speaking out and sharing his experience to try and help others.”
Fellow Tottenham striker Son wrote on Instagram: “Your brave words will help so many people. Proud of you mate.”
Southampton defender Kyle Walkers-Peters, who played with Alli at Tottenham posted on Twitter: "An emotional watch, well-done @dele_official. I'm sure this wasn't an easy conversation to have. Your courage to share your story could help so many people who see this video. Proud of you brother."
Other athletes who offered their support included footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Victor Wanyama and Aymeric Laporte and England cricket captain Ben Stokes, who all commented on Alli's Instagram.
Pochettino said of the interview: “I didn't finish the interview because it was so painful. He [Dele] knows we [Pochettino and his coaching staff] love him, how important he is for us as a person”
When he joined Chelsea FC this summer, he said that he intended to reach out to Dele about his recent playing struggles, before The Overlap interview had been released.
Alli’s current club Everton showed their support with a statement as well: “The Club has been supporting Dele in both his return to fitness and overcoming the personal challenges highlighted in his interview with The Overlap. Everyone at Everton respects and applauds Dele’s bravery to speak about the difficulties he has faced, as well as seek the help required.
“The physical and mental welfare of all our players is of paramount importance. The Club takes very seriously its responsibility in protecting the confidentiality of players and staff. Dele will not be conducting any further interviews in relation to his rehabilitation, and we ask that his privacy is respected while he continues his recuperation from injury and receives the full care and support needed for his physical and mental wellbeing."
Even the Prince of Wales, Prince William demonstrated his support, tweeting:
“Brave and inspirational, Dele. Discussing mental health is not a sign of weakness. Let’s keep the conversation going. We’re all with you and we wish you the very best. W”
The Overlap episode title was ‘Now is the Time to Talk,’ which underlines the importance of communication, being honest and transparent and being comfortable showing vulnerability and sharing experiences. It has created a conversation and the importance of a strong support system.
One example of the interview’s impact was when former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant said on talkSPORT: “For the people that have never endured anything close to that, it was a very uncomfortable watch. But for me, I related to it, and I could feel what he was feeling when he said those things.” He then discussed his own childhood trauma and battles with depression and alcohol abuse.
In a sad, yet powerful way, Alli’s story serves as yet another warning about mental health in football and sport in general. There has been much progress since German goalkeeper Robert Enke’s suicide, for instance, in 2009; and the substance and abuse and depression experienced by the likes of former England midfielders Paul Merson and Paul Gascoigne. However, there is still clearly a long way to go.
As more public figures open up about their mental health battles, it normalises their struggles rather than positioning them as a flaw.
Men in particular can see that being vulnerable is not a weakness and that it is good to talk. Mental health charity Young Minds UK posted on Instagram: “Thank you for showing young men that it is okay to be vulnerable. There is strength in asking for help.”
The Sky documentary ‘Tackling the Stigma’, released earlier this year, investigated football’s issues with mental health. It strove to allow for more open discussions about mental health, and ultimately break its stigma.
Another former Tottenham midfielder, Kieron Dyer, opened up about his past mental health issues, looking back at when he was younger and how he often used male bravado to mask inner pain. It took him a long time to realise he needed help, he eventually did after retiring from football. He recalled: "I was a very vulnerable kid and I took those traits into being a man who couldn't show weakness or fear because I didn't want to be that vulnerable little boy that was taken advantage of," Dyer told Sky Sports.
"Deep down in my psyche there was someone who wanted to be heard and someone who wanted to be helped and fortunately for me, I finally got that help.
"It was after my career had finished not while it was going. I honestly believe my career would've taken off in a different direction [If I had got help while playing]."
Dele knows that he is not the only one to have struggled with sleeping pill addiction, explaining: “It’s probably a problem that you know, not only I have, I think it’s something that’s going around more than people realise in football.”
Oxford United psychotherapist, Gary Bloom, in an interview with the BBC disclosed: "Addiction to sleeping tablets is widespread, much more than people realise," he said. "There is also widespread use of caffeine stimulants for matches.
"Players are pretty wired during games because they want to give themselves a legal buzz for when they are playing - but then they cannot get to sleep at night.
"They are therefore prescribed sleeping tablets and the cycle goes on."
Karren Brady, in her Sunday column for The Sun commented that: “I have been in football for more than thirty years and I can tell you that addiction has become the curse of the Premier League.
“I’ve seen players with all sorts of addictions- gambling, drugs, alcohol and sex.
“Almost all of them have one thing in common, and that is an unstable upbringing.
“There is so much pressure on footballers to “live the dream”. They are often incredibly young, just teenagers.”
She goes on to say that “The wonderful thing about football is that it is one of the few true-levellers in society.
“It’s all about talent, not class or status. But that means that you get people from the top of the game from all walks of life, including difficult, unstable upbringings.
“So Dele’s podcast interview about mental health and addiction should be required listening for every aspiring young footballer. It’s nothing short of inspirational.”
Alli has had his media and supporter critics, perhaps prompted by his drop in form and the perceived attitude problems highlighted in the All or Nothing Amazon documentary in 2020.
Earlier this year, there were headlines about him being surrounded by nitrous oxide canisters with a balloon in his mouth.
He admitted: “I wouldn’t say [that I’ve been targeted], I don’t know. I didn’t help myself, I put myself in stupid positions where it was too easy for them to do that.”
Alli is now in a much better place thanks to the support he has received and is better prepared to cope with any negativity he may attract. Alli said: “I don’t care what they write, they can write what they want to do as long as if I help one person to come out and change their life, and potentially save their life, then that’s all I need from this.”
Alli’s interview is a further reminder that private struggles are not always obvious and that even wealthy sports people can have mental health problems.
Whether it prompts more athletes to come forward and share their experiences remains to be seen.
MISS - VICTORIA COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Since the Commonwealth Games began in 1930, they have only ever been cancelled because of World War Two.
A shock and unexpected announcement in mid-July could well see the event cancelled for the first time since.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games were scheduled to be held in Victoria, Australia, until state Premier Daniel Andrews announced that the hosts had pulled out due to an increase in costs.
He said: “In terms of where we go to from here, the Games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026. We have informed Commonwealth Games authorities of our decision to seek to terminate the contract and to not host the Games.
“Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out. But of course not at any price and only if there was lasting benefit for Victorian communities and benefit for the whole state.”
The government website had previously said: “Victoria 2026 will showcase what makes the people of our state tick: our unity, our diversity, our sense of community, our welcoming attitude and our love of sport.”
However, a failure of due diligence and budget control saw Andrews admit that the costs were no longer viable, after the anticipated A$2.6 billion project allegedly grew to over A$6 billion.
He said: “Six to seven billion dollars is well and truly too much for a 12-day sporting event. I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost as estimated and budgeted for last year.
“We are not doing that, that does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit. I've made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job. This is not one of them.
“We have looked at every option. We’ve looked at Melbourne, we’ve looked at less sports, less hubs. We’ve looked at every conceivable option. All of them are far in excess of the 2.6 billion dollars that’s been budgeted so all of them represent more cost than there is benefit and on that basis none of the options stack up and so we’re not going to be hosting the Games in 2026.”
The regional government will still complete proposed stadium renovations but will use the remaining budget on housing and tourism.
Understandably, the CGF were not impressed and issued a statement: “This is hugely disappointing for the Commonwealth Sport Movement, for athletes around the Commonwealth and the organising committee who are well advanced in their planning and preparation.
“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the government.”
Regarding the budget issues, they added: “Up until this point, the government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“The reasons given are financial. The numbers quoted to us today of 6 billion dollars are 50 per cent more than those advised to the organising committee board at its meeting in June.”
CGF President Dame Louise Martin wrote of Andrews’ team: “Since awarding Victoria the Games, the government has made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).”
Andrews responded by denying responsibility: “I think they [Games organisers] are asking for me to apologise for cancelling the Games. I’m not doing this because we’re not running them. Because to run them is billions of dollars over and above the original budget.”
Despite the self-inflicted added costs, Craig Phillips, Chief Executive of Commonwealth Games Australia doubted the A$6bn estimation.
He said: “The stated costs overrun, in our opinion, a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operation costs presented to the Victorian 2026 Organising Committee as recently as June this year.
“The announcement made by the Victorian Government today is beyond disappointing.
"It’s a comprehensive let down for the athletes, the excited host communities, First Nations Australians who were at the heart of the Games, and the millions of fans that would have embraced a sixth home Games in Australia.”
He went on to suggest that the government’s U-turn would jeopardise the reputation of Victoria state capital Melbourne as a prestigious sporting destination.
“I would be very careful if I was an international sporting body coming and doing business in this state in the future.”
Shadow federal Sports Minister, Anne Ruston, believes that Victoria’s decision could affect Australia’s hosting credibility. She said: “Australia’s reputation has been damaged today and you should be very worried about the damage this does to Australia’s international reputation. Today is a very sad day for Australian sport.”
Others suggest that the reputational damage will affect its trading capabilities.
Tim Harcourt, an economist with the University of Technology Sydney, said: “The Commonwealth Games are pretty significant for trade. They’re not being leveraged for how important they could be.”
He argued that at a time in which Australia is seeking to strengthen its trade in the Indo-Pacific region, no longer welcoming those nations to compete in Australia is economically “short-sighted.”
The news reverberated beyond Australia and the CGF with the President of the Jersey Commonwealth Games Association, Paul Huddlestone, saying: “I'm stunned and disappointed, I had no idea this was coming. There was absolutely no hint that any of this was going to happen.”
The absence of Commonwealth Games in 2026 would have been a marked absence for a small nation such as Jersey, and a huge blow for its athletes.
Likewise, former chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland Paul Bush stated: “The Games is the only opportunity for many athletes to compete under the Scottish flag, and we know how much that means to them, our sports and supporters.”
The Commonwealth Games is the only high profile, international competition in which disabled athletes compete alongside able-bodied athletes rather than in a separate event.
Australian gold-medal-winning Paralympian swimmer, Rowan Crothers, tweeted that the Games are “a great opportunity to raise awareness for disabled sport. Seeing the Games cancelled will suck for the state of inclusion.
“For some athletes, a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games means more than a gold medal at the Paralympics… recognition and equality can mean more than achievement."
Since the initial Victoria announcement, the Gold Coast have stepped in and suggested that they can host them instead, having hosted a successful edition in 2018 as well.
Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips is also set to meet with State Premiers over the coming weeks in an attempt to find a new host in the country.
However, as Guardian journalist Kieran Pender wrote, the Commonwealth Games are “a second-tier event with a first-tier price tag.”
Like Victoria, the South African city of Durban, due to host in 2022, declared themselves financially incapable in 2017 while budgeting issues also forced the other 2026 bids to withdraw, including Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Cardiff (Wales), Calgary and Edmonton (both Canada) and Adelaide (Australia).
Australian sports historian Matthew Klugman claims that the ongoing lack of enthusiasm to host shows that “there’s much less interest than there used to be. It's not the phenomenon that it was even in the 1990s. It does reflect a changing world."
He claims that Victoria’s cancellation could be a “death knell.”
Steve Georgakis, a sports studies lecturer at the University of Sydney, likewise said: “This could spell the end of the Commonwealth Games.”
Founded by a Canadian sportswriter who wanted to celebrate the British Empire, the Games’ colonial roots have become a point of contention with a growing number of people. The competition, which was even previously called the British Empire Games, is struggling to attract younger audiences.
The CGF have acknowledged the controversy surrounding the competition, stating “There is no easy way of saying the Commonwealth has a challenging history linked to colonial roots. Work has already started to alter the focus from the hegemony of the British Empire to one of global peace."
How this will be possible has been called into question, as The Guardian journalist Tumaini Carayol said in condemnation: “The lasting damage that slavery and colonialism have inflicted on Commonwealth countries has never been fully addressed.
“What initially stood as an event for Britain and its colonies is now a helpful tool for Britain to divert attention from its ills of the past, presenting itself as a more compassionate nation compared with other former imperial powers.”
The athletes themselves have also expressed concern about the morality of the Commonwealth. Before last year’s event in Birmingham, British diver Tom Daley slammed the homophobia rampant in many Commonwealth countries.
In 35 of the 56 member states, same-sex relations are illegal and in seven of those nations, homosexuality carries a sentence of life imprisonment.
The ultimate significance of Andrews’ choice to cancel Victoria 2026 remains to be seen.
His own reputation already appears irreparably damaged, with Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson leading the calls for him to resign.
“Daniel Andrews has singlehandedly, in concert I might say with the Albanese government, trashed our reputation. This is humiliating, this is a monumental embarrassment.”
However, only time will reveal the impact of his decision on Australia’s future hosting viability as well as the future of the Commonwealth Games.