Three Ireland’s Talk More Than Football campaign, in partnership with Chelsea F.C., sees Vinnie Jones take over the team talk to deliver a poignant message on mental health. The campaign follows new research of 1,000 Irish football fans commissioned by Three Ireland which found that 56% of football fans have experienced a mental health disorder, whilst 26% have never spoken to their close circle of friends and family about this

Whilst many of us may experience a mental health difficulty over the course of our lifetime, we can still find it difficult to talk about mental health and reach out for help when we need it. A recent Aware survey found that 2 in 5 people struggling with their mental health did not reach out for help because of shame, embarrassment or fear of judgement.

An important part of tackling this stigma around mental health is having open and honest conversations and connecting with others for support. Campaigns like Talk More Than Football are vital to increase understanding of mental health, equip people with the tools to start those conversations and hopefully work towards normalising speaking about our mental health in the same way we would talk about our physical health.