The Duke of Cambridge has called out football clubs for treating players as “assets” instead of people and neglecting their welfare.
Prince William who is President of the Football Association said clubs are not doing enough to support players and their mental health. He commented, “Many players come from difficult backgrounds and may have all sorts of issues going on…it’s a dereliction of duty I think – having these players not given the key building blocks or support.”
He warned too many players are not given the support they need in building a new life once they are let go by the club if they fail to reach a required standard. In support of this, he announced a new campaign around mental health with the FA, potentially staging a “Mental health FA Cup”.
The Duke, along with the Duchess of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, have been campaigning for several years on mental health issues, speaking regularly about the stigma and working with various charities and projects to raise awareness.