Prince William Sends Message to Soccer Fans, Urges Them to Evaluate Their Mental Health

With the third round of the Emirates FA Cup taking center stage during the first weekend of [...]

By John Newby

With the third round of the Emirates FA Cup taking center stage during the first weekend of January, there was an air of excitement about the competitive action. However, each match was delayed by 60 seconds in order for a brief ad to play on the video screens. The 'Heads Up' campaign encouraged soccer fans to think about their mental health, and the video was narrated by Prince William.

The Duke of Cambridge is the president of the English Football Association and has previously worked with his brother, Prince Harry, to bring attention to mental health issues. This Heads Up campaign is another example of the work that he has done in recent years.

"In life, as in football, we all go through highs and lows," Prince William said in the video. "We can all feel anxious or stressed. At moments even the little things can seem a struggle."

This video was played prior to all 32 matches over the weekend, as fans of the sport received this message from Prince William. This message was not limited to the stadiums, however, as millions of fans watching at home were also encouraged to think about their mental health.

Prince William is someone that has dealt with struggles throughout his life, as he revealed during a BBC documentary about his mother's death. He explained at the time that he felt a pain like no other after Princess Diana died in a car accident. He also said that men should feel comfortable talking about mental health issues.

"I think when you are bereaved at a very young age – any time really, but particularly at a young age, I can resonate closely to that – you feel pain like no other pain, and you know that in your life it's going to be very difficult to come across something that's going to be even worse pain than that," William said, per CNN.

"Particularly in Britain as well, we are nervous about our emotions. We're a bit embarrassed at times. You know, the British 'stiff upper lip' thing – that's great, and we need to have that occasionally when times are really hard there has to be a moment for that. But otherwise, we've got to relax a little bit, and be able to talk about our emotions, because we're not robots."

Photo Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

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