Imagine Your Goals is an innovative three-year programme in partnership with Mersey Care NHS Trust, the Premier League, Football Foundation, Professional Footballers' Association and the charity Imagine.

Earlier this year, Everton in The Community's mental health programme received £120,000 from the Premier League/PFA Community Fund to provide coaching opportunities to adults who encounter mental health problems on Merseyside. The project works with Mersey Care NHS Trust, which provides mental health and learning disability services for Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby.

The Premier League/PFA Community Fund enables Premier League clubs' community departments to apply for grants to start innovative new projects, or develop and enhance the many they already deliver. The £12.9m three-year fund is administered and managed by the Football Foundation.

A launch of the project took place earlier this week, attended by key members of the Premier/PFA Community Fund panel and Everton midfielder Leon Osman.

Everton in The Community Chief Executive Gary Townsend said: "Mental Health is an issue that is very often overlooked by sporting service providers and here at Everton in The Community we are aiming to lead the way and change this situation.

"Many months of hard work have gone into establishing a coordinated and sustainable football development programme for mental health service-users. The programme will hopefully enrich the lives of hundreds of individuals who would normally miss out on accessing football opportunities."

Mersey Care's adult mental health project manager Matty Byrne added: "We see this initiative as providing much more than just good physical exercise and a therapeutic game of football.

"Service users will be offered football coaching qualifications, volunteering and employment opportunities, match day and club visits, and all the bonuses of being associated with such a forward-thinking and inclusive club as Everton. We hope it will increase people's confidence, self-esteem and help in their recovery."

The project has already made a huge impact on those who have accessed the community based football sessions so far. A current service user from Toxteth said: "Taking part in football has given me confidence, fitness and social networking skills. It's really improved my appetite for life and helped me to concentrate. It has also helped me face challenges head on and allowed me to overcome mental health barriers - most of all it has helped me to believe in myself."