Kidderminster Harriers kit sponsor aims to tackle mental health stigma

Kidderminster Harriers says it is "leading the way in wellbeing" with its new shirt sponsor

A mental health charity has been announced as the sponsor for a football club in a bid to tackle stigma around mental health.

The Kaleidoscope Plus Group will now appear on home and away kits for Kidderminster Harriers.

The club's chief executive Neil Male said mental health was "still a huge stigma within the football community".

"We want to work with players... to educate them that it's OK not to be OK," he said.

Earlier this year, the Professional Footballers' Association reported a "spike" in the number of footballers seeking mental health support.

In February, Prince William joined forces with professional players to launch Heads Up Weekends, a scheme targeted at normalising conversations on mental health.

"We talk about physical fitness, we never really talk about mental fitness," the duke said at the time.

"We all need to stay mentally fit, none more so than professional athletes who... have got to have their heads razor sharp as well as their feet and legs."

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The Kaleidoscope Plus Group is the first mental health charity to be supporting a National League club, its CEO Monica Shafaq said.

The Harriers will sport the kit from the start of the new season which begins on 3 October

"This isn't simply about being a sponsor," she said. "Our sponsorship is designed not only to raise awareness and encourage people to talk about mental health, but also to signpost them to relevant services."

Ms Shafaq said she hoped "entwining mental health with football" through the partnership would "allow players to really understand the importance of their teammates' wellbeing as well as their own".