Mental health film narrated by Prince William to be played before two Sheffield FA Cup games

Kick-off for all 32 Emirates FA Cup Third Round fixtures – including Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United as well as Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town, Barnsley, Hull City and Leeds United - will be delayed for 60 seconds this weekend to encourage fans to "Take A Minute" to consider their well-being.

In a “historic first” the film, which features England stars including Harry Maguire, Jesse Lingard and Jordan Pickford, will be played in stadiums and broadcast to millions watching the games on TV.

It has been released as a collaboration between Public Health England’s (PHE) Every Mind Matters, a groundbreaking mental health platform, and Heads Up, a season-long partnership between Heads Together and The FA which is spearheaded by Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge.

Andrew Furber, Centre Director at PHE Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Mental health isn’t necessarily something everyone considers on a daily basis, but lots of people engage with football more often. We know sport is good for physical health but it’s also good for mental health; it’s wonderful to see sport used as a platform to help encourage simple steps for positive mental health change.”

Research shows that in Sheffield, around 18 per cent of the population aged 16 and over have experienced a mental health condition.

Further national statistics show that of the 78 per cent of men who have experienced early signs of mental health concerns like stress, anxiety, low mood or trouble sleeping in the last year, just 45 per cent said they’d never taken self-care actions to manage their mental health and of those that did take steps over three quarters wished they’d taken action sooner.

Men were also less likely to take self-care actions every day, with 18 per cent of men doing so compared to one in four women.

While the collaboration is aimed at everyone including players, supporters, friends and families, it’s widely recognised that football can be a powerful way to reach men in particular – with around 15 million football fans in England, 69 per cent of whom are men.

Godric Smith, chair of the Heads Up campaign, said: “Football is already doing some great work on mental health but it is really encouraging to see the whole game uniting around the Heads Up campaign in 2020 starting with the Emirates FA Cup Third Round. Support your team. Support your mates. And support yourself.”

Fans can start by completing a ‘Mind Plan’, in which they answer a few questions about how they are feeling to get a personalised action plan – clinically assured by the NHS – which recommends a range of self-care actions designed to deal with stress, boost their mood, improve sleep and feel more in control.

Fans can create their own by visiting: www.everymindmatters.co.uk. For 24/7 immediate support text ‘HeadsUp’ to 85258 to be connected to a trained crisis counsellor.

Tips and advice are also available on the FA website at www.thefa.com/headsup.

The Emirates FA Cup Third Round kicks-off on Saturday Janurary 4.