Prince William, Kane and Shearer Put Sport at the Centre of a National Push to Prevent Suicide

Sport’s reach from Premier League stadiums to grassroots pitches is being placed at the heart of a major new effort to prevent suicide in the UK, as the Prince of Wales joins forces with leading athletes including Harry Kane, Alan Shearer and Dame Kelly Holmes.

The initiative, branded “On Your Side”, is built around a practical suicide-prevention toolkit for sport. It is being launched at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium and is backed by key institutions in English football and Olympic sport, as well as mental health charity partners.

Royal Foundation leads first UK-wide suicide toolkit for sport

The project has been developed by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales with mental health organisations including Chasing the Stigma, whose Hub of Hope platform is billed as the UK’s largest directory of mental health support services. The toolkit aims to turn suicide prevention into routine practice in sporting environments, helping coaches, team-mates, staff and fans recognise when someone may be in crisis and how to respond.

At the launch in Liverpool, the Football Association, the Premier League and Team GB are endorsing the guidance and committing to embed it across their structures, from elite squads to community programmes. British Cycling and other national bodies are also backing the scheme, reflecting a deliberate strategy to position suicide prevention as part of how sport is run and governed, not just an add-on campaign.

The timing of the launch on World Suicide Prevention Day underscores the scale of the challenge. Suicide remains the leading cause of death among men under 50 in the UK, and the initiative stresses that sport can reach people who might never seek formal medical help or walk into a mental health service.

GOALS: a sports-language guide to difficult conversations

A core feature of On Your Side is a step-by-step guide for initiating conversations with someone who may be struggling. Branded “GOALS” to reflect familiar sporting terminology, it encourages:

• G – Get ready: prepare to ask and listen without judgement;
• O – Open the conversation: start with simple, direct questions about how the person is feeling;
• A – Ask the question: if worried, ask clearly about suicidal thoughts rather than avoiding the subject;
• L – Listen and respond: give space, take concerns seriously and avoid minimising what is shared;
• S – Support and signpost: help connect the person to appropriate professional or community support.

This structure is designed to be used in everyday sporting contexts – in dressing rooms, gyms, clubhouses and stands – by people who are not mental health professionals but may be the first to notice a change in behaviour or mood.

Star power across sport to normalise talking about suicide

To amplify the message, a short film has been produced featuring England men’s captain Harry Kane, two-weight world champion boxer Carl Frampton, Formula 1 driver George Russell and other athletes from rugby, basketball, cycling and horse racing. The video shows them voicing simple, direct questions about wellbeing, underlining the idea that asking “Are you alright?” and following up can be a crucial intervention.

Prince William provides narration for the film, reinforcing a theme that has run through his wider mental health work: that people do not need to be experts to make a difference, but they do need the confidence to start a conversation and the knowledge of where to guide someone for further help.

Former England captain and Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer is among the most prominent supporters of the initiative. He has spoken about its personal significance, with the launch taking place at Everton – one of the clubs that meant a great deal to his close friend Gary Speed, the former Wales manager who died by suicide in 2011. That connection underlines how suicide has shaped the modern history of British football and continues to inform how the game thinks about player and coach welfare.

Double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes, former England midfielder Jill Scott, broadcaster Gabby Logan and multi‑title cyclist Dame Laura Kenny are also lending their backing at the event, signalling that suicide prevention is being taken seriously across both men’s and women’s elite sport.

From elite platforms to grassroots dressing rooms

While the launch stage is highly visible – led by a senior royal and household-name athletes at a Premier League stadium – the project is explicitly designed for use at every level of sport. The guidance is framed as relevant to:

• professional and semi-professional athletes;
• coaches, referees and club staff;
• volunteers and administrators in community clubs;
• families, friends and supporters on matchdays.

The FA’s commitment to embed the toolkit through its grassroots network means it can influence tens of thousands of coaches and volunteers who have day-to-day contact with players, particularly young men and boys. The Premier League’s buy‑in gives the project a global broadcast platform, with the competition’s clubs already experienced in integrating health and social messages into matchday and digital content.

Team GB’s adoption of On Your Side for athletes and staff adds an Olympic and multi-sport dimension, which is significant for sports where athletes often train in small squads or individually and can be at risk of isolation between major events.

Why this matters for the sporting landscape

For governing bodies, suicide prevention is increasingly viewed as part of duty of care, alongside concussion protocols, safeguarding policies and anti-discrimination rules. As sport moves towards a more formalised approach to mental health – in line with player welfare standards set by federations such as the Football Association – initiatives like On Your Side are becoming part of how competitions maintain credibility with players, sponsors and fans.

High-profile cases in football, rugby and other sports have highlighted the pressures that can contribute to mental health crises, from injury and contract uncertainty to public scrutiny and post-retirement transition. By equipping clubs to identify warning signs earlier and respond consistently, the toolkit aims to reduce the risk that issues escalate unseen until a crisis point is reached.

There are also implications for talent pathways and team performance. Federations increasingly recognise that psychologically safe environments are more likely to retain participants, reduce burnout and support long-term development. For national teams and professional clubs, an embedded culture of open conversation about mental health can help protect both player welfare and on‑field continuity.

Part of a wider shift in how sport confronts mental health

The launch of On Your Side sits within a broader trend of sports bodies aligning with national health strategies that emphasise early intervention and community-based support, particularly for men. Recent government work on men’s health and suicide prevention has explicitly highlighted the role of clubs and leagues as trusted touchpoints for messaging and support.

By partnering with a charity such as Chasing the Stigma and utilising its Hub of Hope platform, the Royal Foundation’s project ensures that conversations started in sporting environments can be connected to local, specialist help. That linkage is critical if suicide prevention is to move beyond awareness into structured, repeatable action.

Crucially, those behind the initiative stress that it is not intended as a one-day campaign built around World Suicide Prevention Day. The toolkit has been developed over two years with the stated aim of leaving a lasting legacy – a set of habits and protocols that clubs can build into inductions, coach education, codes of conduct and matchday operations.

From symbol to standard

For now, Prince William’s presence alongside Kane, Shearer and a cross‑section of British sporting talent provides a powerful symbol of intent. The true measure of On Your Side will lie in whether its language and tools become part of the everyday fabric of sport: the way captains speak in a huddle, the way coaches check in with players after injury, the way stewards and staff are briefed to respond when a fan is in visible distress.

If that cultural shift takes hold, this week’s event at a Premier League ground could be remembered less as a royal engagement and more as a moment when suicide prevention became a recognised, shared responsibility across the sporting landscape.