All FA Cup third-round ties will be delayed by one minute to help promote mental health. The FA, in partnership with the Heads Up campaign and the National Health Service’s Every Mind Matters, wants to encourage fans to think about their mental wellbeing.
All 32 ties, which will take place over the weekend of 3-6 January, will kick-off one minute later than usual.
The FA’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said: “While delaying kick-off times by 60 seconds is a simple idea, it provides a powerful platform for us and our Heads Up charity partners to deliver a really important message on mental health.
“We know that men in particular can be reluctant to talk about the subject, so it is important that we use football as a vehicle to stress the importance of mental fitness.”
It is hoped the initiative will raise awareness of the importance of mental health by promoting the free, online Every Mind Matters resources and the Your Mind Plan tool, which fans can use to create a personal mental health action plan.
The Heads Up campaign chairman, Godric Smith, said: “The FA Cup is a competition for everyone – for clubs big and small – and we want to use its power to help show that we all have mental health and that we can all take a minute to focus on how we can start to improve it.”
