The Prince of Wales urges sport to prioritise suicide prevention
This World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September), HRH The Prince of Wales is bringing together sporting legends and leaders from major organisations to harness the power of sport to prevent suicide. The Prince will launch ‘On Your Side’, a first-of-its-kind toolkit to help organisations and individuals across sport build the knowledge, confidence and practical approaches needed to contribute meaningfully to suicide prevention.
Co-produced in partnership with the UK’s national standards body, the British Standards Institution (BSI) and mental health charity Chasing the Stigma, the toolkit has been designed to give people engaged in sport the confidence to spot warning signs, start conversations and connect individuals with support before a crisis occurs. It will be available on Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope, the UK’s largest mental health directory.
To mark the launch, The Royal Foundation has produced a short film aimed at encouraging people to have the confidence to start a conversation about suicide. The film features footballer and England captain Harry Kane, Formula 1 driver George Russell, two-weight world champion boxer Carl Frampton, GB international basketball player Kofi Josephs, Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Rocky Clark, double world champion boxer, kickboxer and Muay Thai champion Ruqsana Begum and former elite jockey, turned jockey coach, George Baker.
On Thursday, The Prince will host an event at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, the home of Everton Football Club, attended by representatives from across the sports world and well-known figures including Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil) OLY, Gabby Logan OBE, Campbell Hatton, Jill Scott MBE and Dame Laura Kenny.
Activity Alliance joins leaders from major sports organisations and will announce details of their commitments to the initiative. The Football Association, of which The Prince is Patron, will commit to embedding the toolkit across its entire organisation, as well as its community and grassroots football network. The Premier League and British Cycling will announce their commitment to prioritising suicide prevention across their organisations, and Team GB will use the resource with all athletes and staff.
In addition, over a dozen other sports organisations have signed up to become champions of the toolkit, including Activity Alliance. This will see them commit to embedding practical, evidence-based suicide prevention techniques across their organisation, using the resource to strengthen their approach and help inspire wider action across all sports. During the event, representatives from across the sports ecosystem will also have the opportunity to share insights and reflections from their own organisations in a session hosted by Sue Gregory, CEO of Everton in the Community.
Hazel Detsiny, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation, said:
“This toolkit is the first of its kind, uniting the sector across all sports and at every level, with the aim of bringing about meaningful change. Sport can be a powerful force for connection and support, and everyone engaged in sport has the power to make a difference to those at risk of suicide.”
Sport reaches millions of people across the UK. Research commissioned by The Royal Foundation shows that the sports sector has the potential to be a powerful platform for suicide prevention but is hampered by stigma - particularly among men and elite athletes – as well as gaps in skills, knowledge and resources.
The findings show strong goodwill and pockets of effective practice across sport, but that the sector's scale and diversity mean activity is often siloed, inconsistent, and unevenly resourced. At grassroots level, many clubs lack clear guidance on how to recognise risk and respond appropriately.
Developed with input from experts and partners from across the suicide prevention and sports sectors, the ‘On Your Side’ toolkit is the most comprehensive suicide prevention resource created specifically for the sports sector.
It is designed for use across all sporting environments, from local clubs to sports academies and elite organisations, regardless of size, structure or level. It is relevant to everyone involved in sport, including players, coaches, staff, volunteers, families and spectators.
The world of sport is coming together behind one shared goal: suicide prevention.
The toolkit explains how to:
- Create safe and supportive environments where people feel able to speak up and support others in distress, including outlining appropriate language and providing conversation starters.
- Make suicide prevention part of everyday practice, including policies and ways of working.
- Educate those within sports organisations on how to spot the signs and respond to someone in crisis.
- Put clear procedures in place for crisis situations and supporting after a suicide, including directing people to relevant support.
At the centre of the resource is a simple five-step framework, GOALS, for individuals to start a conversation. This stands for: G – Get ready; O – Open the conversation; A – Ask the question; L – Listen and respond and S – Support and signpost.
The Royal Foundation has long been committed to changing the conversation around mental health and suicide prevention, helping to tackle the stigma, while supporting new services so people can find the right help they need at the right time, and in the right place for them.
This targeted outreach to the sports sector builds upon the launch of the National Suicide Prevention Network in Autumn 2025. Backed by over £1 million in funding from The Royal Foundation, over an initial three-year period, the National Suicide Prevention Network aims to deliver lasting change in how suicide is understood and prevented across the four nations.
Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors and Standards Development, BSI, said:
“People involved in sport can appear to be thriving while carrying real emotional strain, often without the space to say so. This resource, based on the world's first standard on suicide and the workplace, gives everyone in sport, from grassroots clubs to professional teams, the tools to recognise distress and respond with confidence."
Jake Mills, Founder and CEO of Chasing the Stigma, said:
“Sport absolutely has the power to change lives. It creates such strong communities, and when those communities come together to say they’re looking out for one another, it is a real force for good. The Hub of Hope helps hundreds of thousands of people a year find support, and we’re proud to be working with The Royal Foundation and BSI to extend our reach to sports clubs and organisations across the UK.”
