Prince William criticises football clubs for neglecting player welfare and mental health

To optimise for archiving, the original image and related documents associated with this article have been removed.

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.

You may also like

View All

Trial introduced to prevent goalkeeper tactical timeouts

The Football Association, Premier League, English Football League, National League and Women’s Super League have agreed that a team must remove an outfield player while its goalkeeper receives treatment. That player must remain off the pitch for one minute after play restarts, as part of a trial to prevent goalkeeper tactical timeouts

Read More

WNBA to introduce Replay Center at the start of the 2027 season

Commissioner of the Women’s National Basketball Association, Cathy Engelbert, has announced that the women’s basketball league will introduce a Replay Center at the start of the 2027 season, in light of the criticism it has received due to its officiating

Read More

Boxer Jai Opetaia sues IBF for removing his cruiserweight world title

Australian boxer Jai Opetaia is suing the International Boxing Federation for removing his cruiserweight world title after his first fight with Zuffa Boxing, a professional boxing promotion

Read More