AFCB

Club news

Football unites to kick start mental health talk

Men’s and women’s football is coming together this weekend to kick off a conversation around mental health.

The ‘Heads Up Weekends’ were launched today at a table football tournament attended by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, marking Time To Talk Day.  

This will highlight the power of talking as a way to support each other, with activity planned at fixtures across the football calendar.  

The initiative comes as new research from Heads Up today shows that fans are more than twice as likely to talk about football than mental health.

Therefore, for two weekends in February, every football team from across the Premier League, English Football League, The National League, The Barclays FA Women’s Super League, The FA Women’s Championship and The FA Women’s National League will dedicate their matches to Heads Up, a partnership between The FA and Heads Together. 

Spearheaded by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, the season-long Heads Up campaign aims to harness the influence and popularity of football to normalise the conversation around mental health, working closely with charity partners Mind, CALM and Sporting Chance.

Fans are encouraged to click here for tips on how to kick off a conversation about mental health. 

To mark the campaign, Aaron Ramsdale and Mark Travers talked about the importance of acknowledging mental health earlier in the week. They were also joined by former Cherries captain Matt Holland of Premier League Productions. 

Watch the full video below.