We all have mental health, just like physical health. We will all face ups and downs in life which will affect it. Some days we won’t feel ourselves.
Over the past two seasons, the EFL has joined forces with Mind, the mental health charity, to help improve football’s approach to mental health and raise awareness around the country.
Now, through the Heads Up campaign, this conversation is about to get bigger, as men’s and women’s football is coming together in the name of mental health.
Over two weekends in February, every football team from across the Premier League, English Football League, The National League, The Barclays Women’s Super League, The FA Women’s Championship and The FA Women’s National League will dedicate their matches to Heads Up.
This Saturday, AFC Wimbledon will be showing its support for the campaign at the home match versus Fleetwood. The players will wear 'Heads Up' T-shirts in the warm-up and club staff will wear 'On Your Side' badges.
With 15 million football fans in England, football has the power to bring the nation together to kick off the biggest ever conversation on mental health.
The Heads Up Weekends will highlight the power of talking as a way to support one another and normalise what can be thought of as a difficult subject, with activity planned at fixtures across the men’s and women’s football calendar.
The weekends will further highlight the important work taking place across football to improve the approach to mental health in football. This includes the EFL and Mind’s ground-breaking charity partnership, which began in 2018 and has provided increased visibility, important training and support for Clubs, staff and fans, and raised vital funds for the mental health charity.
Whether or not you or someone you know is struggling, or if you just want to help stop stigma, kick off a conversation about mental health this weekend. Visit www.headstogether.org.uk/Heads-Up or join the conversation at #KickOffAConversation and #HeadsUp
Visit www.thefa.com/HeadsUp for further support from Heads Up’s charity partners, Mind and CALM. If you need urgent support, text ‘HeadsUp’ to 85258 to connect with a trained crisis volunteer who will chat to them by text message.This service is available 24/7 and free to text from most mobile networks. It is run by ‘Shout’, powered by Crisis Text Line and is a legacy of the HRHs’ Heads Together campaign.
For further advice and support please visit www.mind.org.uk. To learn more about the EFL’s partnership with Mind, please visit: mind.org.uk/onyourside.