Mind’s new campaign is encouraging fans to look out for their mates by asking people to ‘Have Your Mate’s Back’. It uses impactful imagery of players wearing their EFL playing shirts backwards in support of the campaign, which also draws attention to the Mind logo featured on the back of the shirts.
Mind want to use photographs of as many players as possible wearing their shirts backwards in order to inspire fans and other members of the football community to get behind the campaign, wear their shirt backwards and promote the message to ‘Have Your Mate’s Back’.
Running throughout the 2019/20 season, the campaign will kick off onTuesday 10thDecember in the build up to Christmas –a period which can be particularly difficult for those experiencing mental health problems.
This commercial bursts includes a combination of contractual and optional requests:
The EFL and Mind are now into a second season of their ground-breaking ‘On Your Side’ charity partnership which uses the power of football to help improve the nation’s mental health and wellbeing.
With one in four individualsaffected by mental health problems, the partnership focuses on the following areas:
- Raising awareness of mental health amongst fans and wider public
- Helping to improve the approach to mental health in football working with partners across the game
- Raising funds to deliver life changing national and local support
One of the many ways that the partnership raises awareness of mental health is through Mind’s logo featuring on all EFL shirts for the 18/19 and 19/20 seasons. The design incorporates the logo into the player’s name on the back of every EFL shirt in the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two. This is the first time that a charity’s logo has been incorporated into the shirt design in English football.
In addition, the EFL is working with its network of Clubs and community trusts to promote Mind’s message of better mental health and its services to millions nationwide. The latest campaign asks fans to ‘Have Your Mate’s Back’, by noticing if friends are acting differently, giving them a call or dropping them a text asking if they are ok. Mind and the EFL are encouraging players, fans and all in the football community to get behind the campaign by wearing their shirt backwards, displaying the Mind logo, and taking photos to share on social media.
Watch the campaign video here: