9th April 2025
We have teamed up with leading global men’s health charity Movember in a collaboration that will help tens of thousands of young people across Scotland.
As part of an exciting new five-year partnership, Movember Ahead of the Game (MAOTG) includes top-flight football clubs Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust and St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation as delivery partners. MAOTG will develop vital mental health literacy for 20,000 people across Scotland’s sporting community, as well as providing resilience-building skills needed to face life’s challenges on and off the pitch, over the next three years.
Movember Ahead of the Game engages the entire local community sports ecosystem, providing interactive workshops that equip young athletes, parents, coaches, officials, and volunteers with the tools to understand mental health, develop mental fitness, and support one another.
Mental health problems remain a significant issue in Scotland.
Over 50,000 people were admitted to hospital with mental health-related conditions in 2023/24 [1], and one in ten adults say they feel lonely all or most of the time, which includes one in five young adults [2].
As implementation partners, we will be working with football clubs, community trusts and foundations, sporting governing bodies and sportscotland community sports hubs, to train and support 30 delivery partners to expand MAOTG to even more communities.
We have been partners with Movember for the past eight years, including piloting the highly successful men’s mental health programme The Changing Room, which has now been launched throughout Scotland and has supported over 800 men and young men across 24 football clubs.
Movember Ahead of the Game signals the next phase of this partnership, which will see £600,000 invested in Scotland’s mental health.
Paul Williams, Director of Young Men's Health Implementation Europe at Movember, said: "We are excited to announce our new partnerships, including Premiership trusts, that will help us take Movember Ahead of the Game to new heights.
“Our evidence-based programme meets young people where they are — on the field, in their communities — and provides them with the knowledge and tools to build mental resilience for life."
Billy Watson, Chief Executive of SAMH, said: “Taking part in physical activity and sport is an excellent way to maintain good mental health and the work we are doing with Movember is crucial in our ambitions to reach and support more people than we have ever done before.
“We’re proud to be building on our important relationship with Movember through our new five-year strategic partnership and delighted to be introducing this innovative and exciting programme to help young people across Scotland.”
Aberdeen FC captain, Graeme Shinnie, said: “Sport and physical activity play a hugely important role in maintaining good mental health, but Movember’s support of the innovative Ahead of the Game project will now also equip young people with the mental resilience they need.
“It will also enable them to build a support network of coaches, parents and carers who are equally well informed which will be hugely beneficial. Football, like all competitive sport, has many highs and lows and this programme is a fantastic way of helping young players to navigate that often challenging journey.”
St Mirren FC Chief Operating Officer, Keith Lasley, said: “We are proud to support St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation as they take on a key delivery role in the exciting new partnership between Movember and SAMH, supporting mental health through sport.
“At both the Club and the Foundation, we see first-hand how important it is to start conversations around mental health from an early age. By engaging young people through sport, we can build understanding, break down stigma, and equip them with lifelong tools for resilience and well-being.”
Movember Ahead of the Game is part of a broader global sports health initiative aimed at improving the sporting environment and fostering behavioural change for young men. Movember remains committed to investing in research, real-world programme delivery, and advocacy to ensure better mental health outcomes for future generations.
Manchester City’s City in the Community, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Wigan Warriors, Hull FC, Warrington Wolves are also delivering Movember Ahead of the Game.
For more information on the Movember Ahead of the Game programme, watch this video or visit the website.
[1] Public Health Scotland, Mental health inpatient activity, 2024
[2] Scotland’s Census, 2022
