This all started with a question – how could we use our platform to help save a life? We uncovered a data point that has provided the foundation for the clubs work on promoting positive mental health over the last 2 years – the average age of our season ticket holders correlates to the age bracket most likely to die by suicide (45-49).

For World Mental Health Day 2023 we invited all clubs in the league to take part in a fictional line-up initiative that encouraged fans ‘check in on those around them’ by replacing the name of players with close family members. All clubs took part, ensuring this hugely important message reached supporters across the country. We also delivered our #YouAreNotAlone video. The concept was devised and executed entirely in-house, from concept to edit, and dispels the myth that just because someone appears okay on the surface, they may not be.

Across the clubs’ channels alone, the video has been viewed over 66million times but when combined with user generated uploads (across TikTok, X and Meta), the views exceed 300million in over 150 countries, gaining earned media in publications across Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. We also received support from the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Prime Minister, who both wrote to the club praising the initiative. While the reach was incredible, we ultimately wanted to make a tangible difference to people’s lives. We were humbled to hear that the video was attributed to driving over 7,500 inbound social messages to Samaritans, accounting to 63% of their total messages the week of the video’s release.

We’d seen the impact the video had and wanted to ensure there were no barriers in place stopping someone from seeing it, so reached out and united the leading charities in this sector (CALM, Mind, Samaritans, Heads Up and Shout) to make the original file freely accessible to anyone who requested it. We set-up a designated mailbox, manned by staff, and have received over 800 requests for the video to date, from places of worship, schools, governments, and emergency services to corporate institutions globally.