LIVERPOOL, England — Prince William unveiled a groundbreaking suicide prevention resource for the sporting world Thursday, timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, marking what organizers describe as the first initiative of its kind designed specifically for sports organizations across the United Kingdom.
The toolkit, called “On Your Side,” aims to give sporting organizations and individuals, from grassroots clubs to elite professional teams, the confidence and practical skills needed to play a meaningful role in preventing suicide. The Prince of Wales hosted the launch at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, Everton Football Club’s home ground, drawing figures from across British sport for the occasion.
The resource was developed jointly by The Royal Foundation, the British Standards Institution and mental health charity Chasing the Stigma. It will be made accessible through Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope platform, described as the UK’s largest mental health support directory. The toolkit is designed to work across every level of sport, relevant not only to players and coaches but also to volunteers, staff, families and spectators.
At the center of the resource is a five-step conversational framework called GOALS: Get ready, Open the conversation, Ask the question, Listen and respond, and Support and signpost. Beyond individual conversations, the toolkit also provides broader organizational guidance, including how to foster environments where people feel comfortable speaking up, how to integrate suicide prevention into formal organizational policies, how to train staff to recognize and respond to someone in crisis, and how to establish clear protocols for handling the aftermath of a suicide.
Research commissioned by The Royal Foundation ahead of the launch found that while goodwill toward suicide prevention exists broadly across the sports sector, current efforts remain fragmented, inconsistent and under-resourced, with grassroots clubs in particular lacking clear guidance on how to respond effectively.
Several major sporting organizations have already committed to adopting the toolkit. The Football Association, for which William serves as patron, is pledging to embed the resource throughout its entire structure, extending into its community and grassroots football networks. The Premier League and British Cycling have each announced commitments to prioritize suicide prevention within their organizations, while Team GB plans to roll out the resource to all of its athletes and staff. More than a dozen additional sporting bodies have signed on as champions of the initiative.
During the launch event, figures from across British sport shared experiences and reflections in a discussion led by Sue Gregory, chief executive of Everton in the Community, the club’s charitable arm.
To accompany the launch, The Royal Foundation released a short film intended to encourage people to feel confident starting conversations about suicide. The film features England football captain Harry Kane and Formula 1 driver George Russell, alongside two-weight world champion boxer Carl Frampton, GB international basketball player Kofi Josephs, Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Rocky Clark, double world champion combat sports fighter Ruqsana Begum and former elite jockey George Baker. The Liverpool event itself drew additional prominent attendees from British sport, including Dame Kelly Holmes, broadcaster Gabby Logan, boxer Campbell Hatton, former England women’s football international Jill Scott and Dame Laura Kenny.
In a speech at the launch, William is expected to describe the significant potential sport holds for reaching people who might otherwise never seek mental health support.
“My hope is that every sporting organisation in the country will look at what is being launched today and ask a question: ‘What more can we do?’” William said. “Because the opportunity before us is enormous. Sport has the ability to reach people who may never walk through the door of a mental healthcare service. People who may never seek support themselves and may be struggling in silence. The sporting community can help change that.”
Hazel Detsiny, executive director of The Royal Foundation, emphasized the toolkit’s intended scope across the entire sporting sector.
“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,” Detsiny said.
Anne Hayes of the British Standards Institution noted that the resource draws directly on the world’s first formal standard addressing suicide within the workplace, adapted specifically to equip everyone from grassroots volunteers to professional sporting organizations with the tools to recognize emotional distress.
Jake Mills, founder of Chasing the Stigma, spoke to the broader power of sport as a vehicle for connection and support.
“Sport absolutely has the power to change lives,” Mills said. “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.”
Thursday’s launch builds on The Royal Foundation’s broader mental health initiatives, including the National Suicide Prevention Network established in autumn 2025, which is backed by more than £1 million in funding over an initial three-year period. That network has focused on coordinating suicide prevention efforts across multiple sectors of British society, with sport now representing the latest specific area of focus.
With major organizations including the Football Association, Premier League, British Cycling and Team GB already committing to adopt the toolkit, the initiative’s organizers say they hope to see broader uptake continue expanding across grassroots and community sport in the months ahead, building toward the kind of sector-wide, standardized approach to suicide prevention that the commissioned research found had previously been lacking across British sporting organizations.
This report discusses suicide, a sensitive topic. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the UK, Samaritans can be reached free at 116 123. In the United States, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.
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