The Prince of Wales has launched a new initiative seeking to use the reach of sport to help prevent suicide and encourage more people to speak openly about mental health.
The On Your Side project, launched at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool on World Suicide Prevention Day, provides a practical toolkit to help people in sporting environments recognise when someone may be struggling and respond appropriately.
The initiative is backed by sporting figures including England captain Harry Kane, former England striker Alan Shearer and double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, alongside Formula One driver George Russell, former Lioness Jill Scott and cyclist Dame Laura Kenny.
The toolkit is designed for grassroots and professional athletes, coaches, parents, officials, supporters and sports organisations.
It uses a sports-themed GOALS framework — get ready, open the conversation, ask the question, listen and respond, and support and signpost — to give people greater confidence in approaching someone they believe may be struggling.
Prince William, who has long campaigned on mental health and suicide prevention, said sport has an opportunity to reach people who may never seek help through conventional mental health services.
The Prince has written the foreword to the guidance, reflecting on people whose lives have been changed by suicide as well as those whose lives were saved because someone intervened.
The toolkit also challenges the belief that directly talking about suicide could encourage suicidal thoughts. Instead, it says opening such conversations can help people feel heard, less alone and more willing to seek support.
Shearer, whose close friend and former Everton midfielder Gary Speed died by suicide in 2011, said the launch at Everton was particularly significant.
He said people cannot always know when someone is struggling but can improve how they ask, listen and help.
The initiative has been developed by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales in partnership with the British Standards Institution and mental health charity Chasing the Stigma.
The Football Association, Premier League, British Cycling and Team GB are among organisations committing to use the guidance, with the resource expected to be adopted across sports at both professional and grassroots levels.
The Royal Foundation says suicide remains one of the UK’s most serious public health concerns, with more than 7,000 deaths recorded each year, and is the leading cause of death among men under 50.
The initiative aims to make suicide prevention part of everyday sporting culture, giving those within sporting communities practical tools to recognise warning signs, start difficult conversations and help people find appropriate support.