GUYANESE Mary Fung-A-Fat has been named one of two Sporting Chance Ambassadors, as squash leads the charge to help increase awareness of mental health through the charity’s services and engagement with fellow athletes and organisations.
World number 120, Fung-A-Fat, as well as French player and world number 36 Lucas Serme are the two ambassadors for the PSA Foundation partners. Sporting Chance, the largest provider of mental health services works exclusively with professional and elite sports participants in the UK.
According to the Guyanese, her role as a Sporting Chance Ambassador came out of love for the sport.
“I’ve been on both sides of the glass – as a player and coach – and from that, I learnt a lot about the dynamics behind the scenes that tend to bleed on court. This contributed to my decision of pursuing a Masters of Counselling Psychology for Mental Health. When the Sporting Chance Ambassador position arose, it felt like the perfect opportunity to marry my two passions; and I feel lucky to be part of this movement,” she said.
She added, “I’ve seen the need for this support so I most look forward to seeing players have access to mental health counselling to be able to reach their full potential, and ultimately grow the sport.“

Meanwhile, president of Guyana Squash Association, David Fernandes, in an invited comment stated, “Mary has made us all proud and continues to make us proud. She will make a good ambassador.”
The organisation works with 14 stakeholders across ten sports and was founded by former Arsenal and England football captain Tony Adams, MBE, in the year 2000.
The roles of Fung-A-Fat and her fellow ambassador include advising and informing Sporting Chance about relevant issues in order to help shape the charity’s services and engagement with the people it serves. This may also include being part of an athlete’s engagement advisory group.
Raising awareness of the charity and its services which includes social media posts, media interviews and personal appearances as well as assisting Sporting Chance’s education department in delivering workshops and seminars to athletes and sporting organisations.
Both Lucas and Mary will soon be undergoing training with Sporting Chance to help prepare them for their roles, a release said.