The Prince of Wales has opened up about mental health with a few of England’s biggest football players in a new episode of ‘Game of 5s’ ahead of this month’s World Cup.
Joining Prince William are Harry Kane and Declan Rice, who talk about the highs and lows of football as a catalyst for a broader conversation about mental health. The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales collaborated with COPA90, a football media company, to produce the episode.
Kensington Palace shared that the episode “aims to show that we can all face challenges to our mental health, from those at the top of their game to the fans in the terraces. But through shared interests and common ground, speaking about it doesn’t have to be difficult or lonely – it can be an everyday topic that we talk openly about in our day to day lives.”
In a clip of the episode, Prince William said, “You learn by playing a number of times and many other things in life that disappointment is part of life and how you handle it is crucial. Handling some of those really disappointing England results in the past, that was hard, I found that really difficult, because again the same euphoria that we had comes crashing down… You feel high and all together, and then normal life just gets on again.”
Harry Kane, one of England’s most celebrated football players, said, “I’ve just launched a Foundation which is really exciting for me. Talking here about different stuff – highs and lows that we’ve been through as players. That’s my aim is to, especially to the younger generation, talk to them and try and provide ways of talking about mental health and wellbeing. The more we talk about it, and open up, it will definitely help solve and hopefully encourage people not to be afraid to ask for help, especially when you are feeling a little bit lower.”
The episode debuts on November 7th 2022, two weeks before the FIFA World Cup is due to begin in Qatar. Prince William is President of the Football Association, though it’s been reported he won’t attend any matches due to Qatar’s poor human rights records.
