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

York Revolution cancels baseball game due to players’ refusal to wear Pride jerseys

York Revolution, an American independent professional baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania, cancelled its 11th annual Pride Night game as players refused to wear pride jerseys. A week prior, three San Francisco Giants players wrote Bible verse references on their Pride Night hats over the rainbow-coloured Giants logo

Read More

WADA recommends that testing should be carried out by an impartial body, separate from the host country’s agency

The World Anti-Doping Agency has recommended that testing at major events should be undertaken by an impartial body that is independent from the host country’s agency

Read More

World Athletics seeks female athletes’ views on pregnancy, motherhood and competition

World Athletics has launched the Childbirth And Return in Elite Sport (CARES) project to help shape future policies supporting female athletes through pregnancy, childbirth and their return to elite competition. The initiative includes surveys of current and former female athletes to better understand the challenges and support needs associated with motherhood in sport

Read More