The Duke of Cambridge will visit the West Bromwich Albion football club next week in support of the Heads Up Campaign.
Kensington Palace announced that William will visit the club next Thursday to meet with its players “to talk about some of the pressures they face as players, and the impact these challenges can often have upon their mental wellbeing.”
While there, the Duke will also meet with the head coach, Slaven Bilić, to discuss how Heads Up can encourage men to talk about their mental health and support their friends and family through their own mental health.
William will also meet with Albion Academy players, young people who play, for a session on mental health. The first-team players will meet with them to “pass on their experiences of dealing with life’s ups and downs. They will also share useful tools or tips to help them cope with the challenges and potential setbacks they may face in the future,” according to a media release from the West Bromwich Albion football club.
“We are obviously pleased and proud to offer our support to The Duke’s efforts. As we learn more and more about the importance of mental well-being, it seems clear that we should use the game’s profile to encourage everyone to talk about these issues,” said Chris Brunt, West Bromwich Albion’s Club Captain in a statement following the announcement.
Launched as an initiative by the Football Association and Heads Together earlier this year and spearheaded by the Duke of Cambridge, Heads Up aims to “harness the influence and popularity of football to help show the nation that we all have mental health and it is just as important as physical health,” according to the Royal Family website.
Heads Up “will strive to raise awareness, spark conversation and signpost support for those in need, with a crisis text support service established.” The crisis text support line, Shout UK, was also launched by William, Kate, Harry and Meghan earlier this year.
William is also filming a documentary with the BBC on men’s mental health, ‘A Royal Road to Wembley: Tackling Mental Health.’
Heads Up is a season-long campaign that will run throughout the 2019/2020 football season, from elite football clubs to grassroots initiatives, culminating with The Emirates FA Cup Final in May 2020.
