One-minute delay for Shrews clash as FA Cup urging men to get heads around mental health

Salop’s match at Bristol City this Saturday is due to begin at 12.31pm, allowing a one-minute film starring the Duke of Cambridge as well as several top-flight players past and present to be screened.

The film is a collaboration between Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters campaign and Heads Up, a partnership between Heads Together and the FA.

Featuring coaches and players like Frank Lampard, Dele Alli, Alex Scott and Slaven Bilic, the film will be seen by millions across England as all 32 of this weekend’s Emirates FA Cup games are delayed by a minute.

They include the match between Wolves and Manchester United, which will kick off at Molineux at 5.31pm tomorrow, and Stoke at Brentford, which will start at 3.01pm.

A joint statement from the groups said: “A new film narrated by His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge will be played before the matches, encouraging football fans to ‘Take A Minute’ to start taking action to look after their mental health and that of their family and friends.

"Heads Up is a season-long partnership between the FA and Heads Together, and spearheaded by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, which uses the popularity of football as a vehicle to generate the biggest ever conversation around mental health.

"For the third round, the campaign is now partnering with Every Mind Matters, a ground-breaking mental health platform from Public Health England.

“Together, the initiative will encourage football fans to look after their own mental health, and support friends and family who may be struggling.

“They can start this by completing a ‘Mind Plan’, a quick and free tool from Every Mind Matters that has already been completed over one million times. By taking a minute to answer a few questions about how they are feeling, fans will get their own personalised action plan.”

Encourage

“Clinically assured by the NHS, the plan recommends a range of evidence-based self-care actions for each individual, which are designed to deal with stress, boost their mood, improve sleep and feel more in control – preventing these common mental health concerns escalating into more serious, clinical conditions.”

Karen Saunders, health and wellbeing programme lead at Public Health England West Midlands, said: “It is great to see the FA and our footballing heroes acknowledge that mental health is just as important as physical health.

“The aim of this campaign is to encourage football fans to take simple, positive steps to help improve their mental health too and we’re pleased to be involved.”

Godric Smith, chair of the Heads Up campaign, said: “Football is already doing some great work on mental health but it is really encouraging to see the whole game uniting around the Heads Up campaign in 2020 starting with the Emirates FA Cup Third Round.”

“Support your team. Support your mates. And support yourself. The Every Mind Matters website is a great place to start. We all have mental health and we can all take a minute to think more about it and take simple, positive steps.”

Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, said: “We hope that the symbolic 60-second delay to all Emirates FA Cup Third Round fixtures will be the start of a journey for better mental health for the millions who will be watching one of English football’s most famous weekends.

“We’re delighted to have an association with Public Health England for this round and to signpost fans to their ‘Every Mind Matters’ website, one of the simple steps that is readily available to drive change.”

Need help?

• Visit everymindmatters.co.uk to learn more. Those in need of immediate support can text ‘HeadsUp’ to 85258 to be connected to a trained crisis counsellor.

• Further help and advice for those having a mental health crisis is available from a number of agencies in Shropshire:

• Samaritans - 116 123 or samaritans.org

• Shropshire Mind - 01743 368647 or shropshiremind.org

• Telford Mind - 07434 869248 or telford-mind.co.uk

• Access Service for Adult Mental Health - 03001 240365