Rugby League Cares’s success delivering Ahead of the Game has inspired Movember to invest a further £4.2m in this groundbreaking mental fitness programme.
THE positive impact Rugby League Cares is making on the lives of people across the sport’s communities and beyond is no better illustrated than the success of the partnership with Movember.
The two charities have worked side by side delivering incredibly successful health programmes since 2017, initially with the ‘Man Van’ project, a mobile health and wellbeing hub that engaged with thousands of fans at major rugby league events.
At the same time, RL Cares was delivering its acclaimed Offload programme to men in association with a handful of professional rugby league club foundations, which in turn led to discussions about the efficacy of combining the experience and expertise of Offload with Movember’s ‘Ahead of the Game’ mental wellbeing programme.
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 and women. Movember remains committed to investing in research, real-world programme delivery, and advocacy to ensure better mental health outcomes for future generations.
RL Cares and Movember strengthened their partnership by delivering Ahead of the Game to players, officials and staff involved in the Covid-19 impacted RL World Cup, as well as to youngsters playing at community rugby league clubs across the UK.
According to NHS England, one in five children and young people aged between eight and 25 had a probable mental health condition in 2023. Additionally, 50 per cent of mental health conditions are established by age 14, and 75 per cent by age 24.
Ahead of the Game focuses on key health messages targeted at young people, showing them how to spot the tell-tale signs of poor mental fitness in themselves and their team-mates. It teaches them how to spot the signs of poor mental health, how to talk about mental health challenges, and how and when to seek help.
Since 2022, more than 20,000 young people have attended Movember Ahead of the Game workshops delivered by the team at RL Cares, predominantly by current and former players including Keith Senior, Andrea Dobson, Bob Beswick, Amy Hardcastle, Paul Wood, Cory Aston and Damian Gibson.
That success has seen Movember appoint RL Cares as the official implementation partner for Movember Ahead of the Game across the UK: the charity’s staff have also been commissioned to train staff at top-level football clubs in France and the Netherlands in how to deliver the programme, as well as at Everton and Fulham.
Buoyed by the incredible feedback from participants, clubs and associations, Movember announced in early April that it would be investing a further £4.2m in Ahead of the Game over the next three years to improve mental health outcomes through sport in the UK, with the expertise of RL Cares a key driver.
Rugby league clubs who will benefit from investment brought about by the influence of RL Cares are Leeds Rhinos, Sheffield Eagles, Hull FC, Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves. In addition, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Everton, Fulham, Aberdeen, St Mirren and Crystal Palace football clubs will deliver Ahead of the Game to their communities, as will Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
Staff at all these clubs will be trained by Rugby League Cares in how to deliver Ahead of the Game effectively.
Keith Senior, the former Leeds, Great Britain and England centre who combines his position as head of wellbeing programmes at RL Cares with his role as Bradford Bulls assistant coach, said: “We’ve been delivering Movember Ahead of the Game since 2021 and the one thing that hits home every time is how powerfully the programme works, both for young people and their coaches, parents and carers.
“It’s difficult to overstate the impact Movember Ahead of the Game is having on the communities where we have delivered: the power of sport is real. The programme’s ability to impact on the mental fitness of participants is significant, equipping them with the tools and awareness they need to deal with the daily challenges of everyday life.
“RL Cares is proud and privileged to be involved in Ahead of the Game and to work with Movember to share our experience and expertise with the wider sporting world.”
Paul Williams, director of young men’s health implementation Europe at Movember, said: “We are excited to announce our new partnerships, including Premier League club foundations, 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.”
With additional funding and new partnerships, the programme is set to engage 68,000 more participants, expanding its impact and ensuring that more young people receive essential mental health education.
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.
Movember was founded in Australia in 2003 and has gone on to raise almost £500m which has enabled it deliver more than 1,300 men’s health projects around the world, including campaigns around prostate cancer and suicide prevention, as well as mental health in young people.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 508 (May 2025)
