Scottish Lowland Football League extends partnership with FC United To Prevent Suicide
The Scottish Lowland Football League is delighted to announce the extension of the partnership with FC United To Prevent Suicide (FC United).
Last season the naming rights of our League Cup competition were gifted to the movement made up of people from all across Scotland, who are bonded by a common cause – the belief that we all have a part to play in preventing suicide.
The trophy was christened the FC United To Prevent Suicide Lowland League Cup and that will continue for season 2023/24 – kicking off on Saturday, 29 April and culminating in the final on Sunday, 21 May at Berwick Rangers’ Shielfield Park.
Since its inception, the FC United campaign has generated widespread support throughout the Scottish football community and further afield – from the game’s grassroots to high-profile ambassadors.
Lowland League board member – and chairman of Caledonian Braves – Chris Ewing, one of FC United’s signings, has contributed a first-person written piece on his own mental health struggles over the years. The Lowland League is determined to continue flying the flag for such an important subject.
Lowland League chairman Thomas Brown said: “Continuing this partnership with FC United To Prevent Suicide is the easiest decision we, as a board, will make all season by some distance. “We talk about wanting to make a positive impact in our communities and this is one way we can play our part because, sadly, so many lives are touched by suicide.
“If the messaging around the campaign can save one life, this will have been worth it.”
In 2020, the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) launched the United To Prevent Suicide social movement, with the goal of making Scotland ‘the most supportive country on earth’. The aim was to break the stigma around the word ‘suicide’ and get people across the country to pledge their support to take action to prevent suicide.
FC United was created, in part, to target a demographic deemed to be most at risk – harnessing the power of football to spread the simple, important message that we need to Talk, Listen and Save Lives.
Kirstie Cusick, Social Movement Development Manager at United To Prevent Suicide, said: “Once again, we welcome the support from the Lowland League – which has extended far beyond the naming rights to their League Cup. “Their pledge was simple, that they would offer their backing in any way that we could. It’s heartening, humbling and very much in the spirit of this suicide prevention campaign.
“We have been touched by the way FC United has been embraced by the wider Scottish football community, but there’s no complacency. This is an ongoing issue to tackle and together we can make a difference and save lives.” The United To Prevent Suicide social movement was established as part of Every Life Matters, Scotland’s former Suicide Prevention Action aimed at making suicide prevention everyone’s business.
This work is now continuing under Creating Hope Together: Scotland’s new Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Click here to learn more about the FC United campaign.
You can read Chris Ewing’s account of his own mental health journey here.
If you need to talk to someone, please remember:
- Call Samaritans on 116 123
- Call NHS 24 on 111
- Call Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87
- Text SHOUT to 85258 to speak to Give Us A Shout
