Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers Association
Initiative aims to reduce financial stress and anxiety amongst PCA members.
The PCA and ZavFit have launched a partnership to bring the new MoneyFitness health and wellbeing movement to PCA members.
The PCA will provide its 3,500 members with ZavFit’s innovative wellbeing solution, MoneyFitness. The initiative aims to help people improve their mental health and wellbeing by addressing the daily anxiety caused by money.
Worrying about money is the number one cause of mental health problems globally, according to research carried out by BlackRock in February 2019.
In recent years, the PCA and cricket as a whole have been at the vanguard of the movement to improve the mental health and wellbeing of professional sports men and women.
In particular, the PCA and a number of its high-profile member cricketers, including Marcus Trescothick and Dom Bess, have been credited with making huge strides in dispelling the myths and stigma surrounding mental health issues.
The purpose of the PCA is to champion the ongoing interests of professional cricketers throughout their playing careers and beyond, and the PCA’s partnership with ZavFit is the latest in a series of mental health and wellbeing initiatives.
ZavFit’s MoneyFitness movement is based on the premise that money stress is a health issue. At its heart is the concept that money – and the way we use our money – can have a positive or negative impact on health and wellbeing.
MoneyFitness directly addresses the habits, triggers and emotions that can give rise to worrying about money. Over the course of the MoneyFitness Programme, users gain an understanding of how to make money decisions that are right for them, their mental health and wellbeing.
Anna Freeman, Founder & CEO of ZavFit comments: “At ZavFit we believe that money is a health issue, and it’s our aim to create nothing less than a global MoneyFitness movement. The benefits of being physically active to our mental health and overall wellbeing are now broadly understood, and sports such as cricket have played a crucial role in bringing this message to a wider audience. But despite the fact that four out of five people in the UK say they are worried about money, the role that money plays within our mental health and wellbeing is something that is consistently overlooked. This is something that urgently needs to change.
Ian Thomas, Director of Development and Welfare at the PCA, said: “The PCA is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the health and welfare of all of its members, and this partnership with ZavFit will only serve to benefit our work in this area. Financial uncertainty driven by a short-term contracts is a common issue faced by professional cricketers, with the average career in the game coming to an end at the age of just 26. The MoneyFitness movement will help our membership to make the right financial decisions, promoting positive mental health and wellbeing amongst current and former professional cricketers as a result.”
Photo credit: Twitter profile photo of @Bolts329
Freeman concludes: “ZavFit’s vision for MoneyFitness isn’t about spending less or saving more, nor is it about how much money we do or don’t have. It’s about helping people feel happier, less stressed, and more focused. The interplay between health, mental health and wellbeing has long been understood by sport and the fitness industry more generally; now it is time to shine a light on the part that money plays within that. We are honoured to partner with a visionary and forward-thinking organisation like The PCA, and look forward to making a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of all their members.”
ZavFit is a HealthTech startup. Founded by Anna Freeman in 2017 and based in Edinburgh, the ZavFit team brings together some of the brightest minds in HealthTech, FinTech, Neuroscience and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It has been called a game changer by the Health industry.
ZavFit is the first company to identify and address money stress as a health issue. In response, ZavFit has built the first health tool for money that focuses on improving the health and happiness of the individual as an outcome.
Find out more about the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP).
Name of Author: Professional Cricketers Association
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey as the Cricketers’ Association, represents past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales. In the 1970s, the PCA established a standard employment contract and minimum wage for professional cricketers. It also helped create a pension scheme in 1995 and launched the magazine All Out Cricket and the ACE UK Educational Programme in 2002.
