How we achieved our goal for Mind

The football tournaments came about as I realised the increasing mental health issues among my friends. My friends and I had just left university and started our new jobs. As result, we were really struggling on how to prioritise our time. We were desperate to do well at work, keep fit, and still have time to socialise, but we were struggling to fit it all in.

“I’d started playing five-a-side football with my friends every Tuesday, and I realised it was a great way to tackle my mental health.”

Personally, I was feeling my anxiety increase and as I talked to my friends about it, lots of them said they felt the same. I wanted a way to overcome that tight feeling in my chest I was experiencing way too often.

I’d started playing five-a-side football with my friends every Tuesday, and I realised it was a great way to tackle my mental health. I got to exercise, play competitive sport and spend time with my friends every week. It made sense to me that if I started fundraising, this was the way to go.

In October 2022 I organised the first tournament, which I called the FAB World Cup Series – FAB stands for ‘find a balance’. Sixteen teams entered and while I set up a main Just Giving page they all created links, so they had their own pages to help with fundraising. Every player had to pay an entry fee of £24 to cover the cost of the Powerleague venue in Shoreditch, London, who kindly gave me a charity discount. I also secured the free services of Max Lightfoot who took care of all the social media, videography and photography. He also mentored me through the event whenever it felt like it was getting too much.

“It was such a success that I arranged a second tournament with 24 teams. This time more than 300 people came to watch.”

It was a big undertaking. We had 112 players at the first event and over 150 spectators who paid a £3 entry fee and for every drink they bought at the bar 50p went to Mind. We ended up raising more than £10,000.

It was such a success that I arranged a bigger second tournament in June 2023 with 24 teams. This time more than 300 people came to watch. I think everyone wanted a fun day out and an opportunity to hang out with friends. I read once that to be happy you need to have something to look forward to, and for lots of people this event was it, whether they were playing or supporting.

In total we’ve raised over £23,000 for Mind, which is incredible. I couldn’t have done it without the support from family and friends, but a part of me still can’t believe I did it. I think it’s so important to get people into the mindset of raising money for charity from an early age.

Sometimes people feel they must do something incredibly impressive to raise money such as climb a mountain or run a marathon, and that can be such a barrier to fundraising. But something as simple as playing five-a-side football can raise money and awareness.