Football icon Raheem Sterling to tackle youth mental health in Headspace collab

Superstar footballer Raheem Sterling has teamed up with mindfulness juggernaut Headspace in a year-long effort to address youth mental health issues.

As a part of the collaboration, the three-time Premier League winner will champion the ‘Headspace for Educators’ initiative. 

This provides teachers and support staff with free access to resources that will help them ‘connect more with students’ and ‘bring a new calm to the classroom’.

Following the announcement, Sterling said:

“Many young people find it hard to talk about their wellbeing, for fear of being seen as weak or vulnerable. 

“But being open and discussing mental health is the first step to prioritising it.

“There comes a point in time where you have to actually take care of yourself…take care of how you’re feeling.” 

The Manchester City forward said he turned to meditation during the Euro 2020 tournament to help improve his performance and ‘balance his thinking’. 

And through his collaboration with Headspace, Sterling hopes to pass on what he learned and encourage others to give meditation a try. 

He said:

“I was a person who thought I could deal with a lot of things myself…but actually relaxing and clearing your head is much better. 

“There is no doubt that the practice of meditation has enabled me to perform at the highest level consistently and it’s only now that I can see the benefits for people of all ages.”

Alongside his partnership with Headspace, Sterling will also spearhead the ‘Finding Space’ campaign, details of which will be unveiled in January.

Sterling said: “I’m really looking forward to the difference we can make together in developing the conversation around mental health, educating on tools and resources that can help people manage everyday challenges.”

To learn more about the ‘Headspace for Educators’ campaign – which is active in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia – follow the link here.