Male sanitary bins at football club to combat stigma

Sam Holborow and Peter Nash say the bins cater for men with incontinence, many of whom have had prostate cancer

Sanitary bins designed for men or boys have been installed in the toilets of a football club to help combat the stigma of male incontinence.

Stratton Juniors FC in Swindon, Wiltshire, has added the facilities so men can discreetly dispose of their sanitary waste. The club runs teams and events for all ages, including for veterans and walking football events.

Two specially designed incontinence bins, large enough to fit male incontinence products, have been installed in the club's new community clubhouse.

Sam Holborow, club treasurer, said: "Making our clubhouse as inclusive as possible for our community of players and supporters is really important to us."

The bins cater for men with incontinence, many of whom have had prostate cancer

Ms Holborow continued: "We are obviously in a very male-dominated area with the football club.

"So having the ability for men to come and be able to talk about it and be able to see that they're in a safe space is very important."

Stratton Juniors sees around 200 people pass through its doors every weekend. If all of these people were men, at least 25 of them are likely to get prostate cancer, with a further 16 of these men likely to need support with incontinence issues.

Club director Peter Nash believes everyone should feel welcome: "It's really important to break that stigma around having these bins for the men," he said.

"I think we can then have those kind of open discussions around prostate cancer and bring that subject to the fore."

Robin White, chief commercial officer at the phs Group, wants men to 'get back in the game'

The bins form part of The BOG STANDARD movement - the minimum standards that Prostate Cancer UK and hygiene services provider phs Group is asking organisations to implement to cater for men with incontinence - and the Back in the Game campaign.

Robin White, chief commercial officer at the phs Group, said: "From research we did, we found that some fans who had had prostate cancer treatment were not coming out to support their local or Premiership clubs.

"This was because they were concerned about the incontinence experience they could suffer from.

"We want to partner with clubs like Stratton to help men get back in the game."