Drawing on football memories to help dementia sufferers

THE Football Reminiscence programme was founded in Scotland in 2009 and is now looking to expand into the North-East. Mackenzie Thorpe, whose father died last year after suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, was so impressed by the project that he allowed it to use four of his football-themed paintings in its work.

It all began three years ago when Michael White, club historian at Falkirk FC, in Scotland, started taking old football photographs to local care homes and showing them to residents with dementia.

In an interview with the Fifa World magazine, he said: “The response was incredible and it still amazes me.”

In one case, a quiet resident who was originally from Eastern Europe broke his silence when he was shown a photograph of the legendary 1950s Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskas.

Mr White said: “Suddenly his eyes just lit up.

It turned out that he could reel off that entire Hungary team.”

He had discovered that football has a magical effect on people who might otherwise be sunk in a dementia-induced fog.

He found that memories of people, places and rituals would often come flooding back once a photograph of a player, a ground or fans sparked recognition.

He secured the backing of the Alzheimer Scotland group and the Scottish Football Association to expand his project.

As a result, the Scottish Football Museum in Hampden Park, in Glasgow, is now used as part of the Football Reminiscence project.

The museum, with its original turnstiles, recreated terracing and dressing room, is a potent reminder of past glories and a perfect place to bring memories flooding back.

One of the project’s care workers, Irene Grey, told Fifa World about the effect of Football Reminiscence on an elderly Hearts fan called Walter.

She said: “He’s a different person when he comes out. He’s animated and he’ll talk all the way home.”

A study by academics at Caledonian University, in Glasgow, confirmed the project’s success.

The report concluded it left people “more confident, calmer, more talkative within the group and, afterwards, more communicative with their spouses”.

Professor Debbie Tolson, one of the report’s authors, says: “What struck me as amazing was how people who were so withdrawn would suddenly shine.”

DETERMINED to spread the word, Mr White was involved in setting up the footballmemories.org.uk website, where players, fans and celebrities are encouraged to contribute football memories and raise funds and awareness of Football Reminiscence.

Mr White says: “Youngsters who might otherwise not have been interested in visiting a website about dementia were hooked in by the stories recounted by Zinedine Zidane or Noel Gallagher.”

After founding the site, which attracted 14,000 visitors in its first two months, Mr White joined forces with former dementia nurse Tony Jameson-Allen and entrepreneur Chris Wilkins to get Sporting Memories Network (SMN) off the ground.

A community-interest venture, SMN plans to branch into other sports.

It now is contracted to manage and deliver the project on behalf of Alzheimer Scotland and the Scottish Football Museum.

Mr Jameson-Allen, who lives in Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, says: “We currently have eight groups running in Scotland and we are developing a training pack. We also have plans for a project in the North-East and other parts of England and we are actively seeking partners to help deliver the project.”

A few weeks ago, the new English wing of the organisation organised its first conference at Lord’s cricket ground, in London, which was attended by sporting stars.

MACKENZIE THORPE’S recent involvement was sparked after Mr Jameson- Allen – an old family friend – contacted the Middlesbrough-born painter.

He said: “When I heard about the fantastic, inspirational work they are doing, I was really happy to get involved. The images I draw of sport are not necessarily just about the game or the club, they are more about the emotions, the nostalgia and the sense of belonging and shared experience.

“If it helps provoke memories and conversations in people, then I am thrilled to have my work used in this way.”

Mr Thorpe says the emotions and passions involved in sport – and football in particular – start at an early age.

He says: “Sporting memories, team loyalties, significant events or personalities are installed and embedded deeply and felt passionately, and my work is a visual prompt which helps to provoke the memories of these deeply embedded, nostalgic emotions and feelings.

“It seems football, more so than any other sport, touches us throughout our lives, so it makes sense to me that something people believe in so passionately would be perfect to stimulate memories, at a time in their lives when they are sadly unable to recall more recent events.”

The painter’s motivation for helping is clear.

“Dementia and Alzheimer’s has touched my life. My father died last year after suffering from Alzheimer’s and I saw first-hand the terrible impact of the disease. I know so many people whose parents are also suffering.”

•Go to sportingmemoriesnetwork.com