The Prince of Wales is today unveiling a groundbreaking suicide prevention resource for the sporting world, timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September.
Named ‘On Your Side’, the toolkit is the first of its kind designed specifically for the sports sector, aiming to give organisations and individuals the confidence and practical skills to play a meaningful role in preventing suicide.
Prince William is hosting the launch at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, Everton Football Club’s home ground, where figures from across British sport are gathering for the occasion.
The resource was developed jointly by The Royal Foundation, the British Standards Institution (BSI) and mental health charity Chasing the Stigma. It will be made accessible through Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope platform, which serves as the UK’s biggest mental health support directory.
Prince William and Harry Kane following England’s Euro 2024 final defeat.
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The toolkit is built to work across every level of sport, from local community clubs and academies through to elite professional organisations, and is relevant to players, coaches, volunteers, staff, families and even spectators.
Its core purpose is to help people within sporting environments identify warning signs, initiate difficult conversations and direct those in distress towards appropriate support before a crisis point is reached.
At its heart sits a five-step conversational framework called GOALS: Get ready, Open the conversation, Ask the question, Listen and respond, and Support and signpost.
Beyond individual interactions, the resource provides guidance on fostering safe environments where people feel comfortable speaking up, integrating suicide prevention into organisational policies, training staff to recognise and respond to someone in crisis, and establishing clear protocols for the aftermath of a suicide.
Research commissioned by The Royal Foundation found that whilst goodwill exists across sport, efforts remain fragmented, inconsistent and under-resourced, with grassroots clubs particularly lacking clear guidance.
The Football Association, for which the Prince serves as Patron, is pledging to embed the toolkit throughout its entire structure, extending into its community and grassroots football networks.
The Premier League and British Cycling are each announcing commitments to make suicide prevention a priority within their organisations, while Team GB will roll out the resource to all its athletes and staff.
More than a dozen additional sporting bodies have also signed up as champions of the initiative, committing to weave evidence-based suicide prevention practices into their operations and encourage broader adoption across the sector.
During the event, figures from across the sporting landscape will share experiences and reflections from their own organisations 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 has released a short film designed to encourage people to feel confident enough to start conversations about suicide.
England football captain Harry Kane and Formula 1 driver George Russell feature 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 has also drawn a notable roster of attendees from the wider sporting world, including Dame Kelly Holmes, broadcaster Gabby Logan, boxer Campbell Hatton, former Lioness Jill Scott and Dame Laura Kenny.
The initiative builds on The Royal Foundation’s broader mental health work, 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.
In a speech at the event, the Prince of Wales is expected to say: “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?’ 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, 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.”
BSI’s Anne Hayes noted that the resource draws on the world’s first standard addressing suicide and the workplace, equipping everyone from grassroots volunteers to professional teams to recognise emotional distress.
Jake Mills, founder 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.”