Arsenal to provide mental health drop-in on match days | OneFootball

Arsenal will introduce a match-day mental health drop-in service this season as part of the Premier League’s Together Against Suicide initiative.

In partnership with the North London NHS Foundation Trust, the club will host confidential sessions at The Arsenal Hub for supporters who may be in crisis, with a particular focus on suicide prevention.

The service begins with the home fixture against Manchester City on 21 September and will run throughout the 2025/26 season.

A practitioner from the trust will be available at The Arsenal Hub, directly beside Emirates Stadium, two hours before kick-off, during the game and for an hour afterwards. No appointment will be required, and supporters will also be offered information about local services for further help.

The programme is funded by the Premier League, which is supporting 11 clubs to trial different approaches to suicide prevention this season. Arsenal’s initiative builds on a partnership with the trust that spans more than 15 years, during which Arsenal in the Community has delivered weekly sessions for adults with mental health diagnoses and mentoring schemes for young people.

Current work includes counselling for 14 to 24-year-olds at The Arsenal Hub in collaboration with the Brandon Centre, as well as access to a qualified sports psychologist in girls’ football programmes.

The scale of the challenge is stark. According to Samaritans, 5,565 suicides were registered in England in 2023, with men three times more likely to die by suicide than women. Islington, Arsenal’s home borough, has the second-highest rate of diagnosed depression and severe mental illness in London.

The initiative was announced on World Suicide Prevention Day and developed in part by Arsenal supporter and broadcaster Roman Kemp, who worked with former Arsenal man and current Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

Kemp, whose best friend Joe Lyons died by suicide in 2020, said: “As someone who has felt the impact of suicide and talked about experiencing suicidal thoughts myself, I know that the sense of community football brings can be used to help those in need and help save lives.

“I’m so proud to work on an initiative that puts compassion and connection at the heart of football and on something I really believe will make a difference to the fans that need it.”