Did greenery bring victory? An English club’s unusual secret!

Forest Green Rovers, who compete in England’s fifth tier, have transformed their players’ dressing room into a veritable jungle by decorating it with greenery. The aim is to reduce players’ stress levels and improve their concentration.

TodayPress TV reports, citing the club’s official website, that the initiative was launched as part of Stress Awareness Week.

Sports psychologists and the Netherlands-based Plants & Flowers Foundation Holland have also been involved in the project. Its main goal is to ease pre-match tension among players, improve their focus and boost their performance on the pitch.

According to experts, pre-match pressure triggers a number of physiological responses in footballers, including rapid breathing, muscle spasms and difficulty concentrating.

Live plants, meanwhile, can act as a natural calming aid, helping to ease tension in the nervous system, restore focus and clear the mind. This, in turn, is said to help players make more accurate decisions on the pitch.

Interestingly, the team won a match after the dressing room makeover. Forest Green Rovers defeated Eastleigh 2-0.

Namiq HUN