Special episode of Game Of 5s launches ahead of the World Cup

COPA90 - Prince William, Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Kelvyn Quagraine

Copa90 has partnered with the Royal Foundation to produce a special episode of Game Of 5s featuring Prince William, Harry Kane, and Declan Rice on mental health.

Launched ahead of the World Cup and hosted by Kelvyn Quagraine, the episode centres on the importance of supporting mental health, using different footballing memories from the the royal and England internationals as a springboard to delve into experiences of the highs and lows of life as professionals and as fans. It covers topics from playing at academy level to the extreme pressures of the international stage and dealing with heart-breaking disappointment. 

It also highlights the work of Shout, a free and confidential 24/7 text messaging support service that provides someone to turn to when people may be struggling. Shout recently partnered with the Harry Kane Foundation on a national outdoor awareness campaign featuring Kane promoting Shout’s 24/7 text messaging support service on billboards across the country.

Game Of 5s launched in 2022 and is distributed across TikTok and Instagram, usually it covers a different top five each week alongside stories that showcase fan culture from around the globe.

Prince William said: “You learn by playing a number of times and many other things in life that disappointment is part of life and how you handle it is crucial. Handling some of those really disappointing England results in the past, that was hard, I found that really difficult, because again the same euphoria that we had comes crashing down. You feel high and all together, and then normal life just gets on again.”

Rice added: “There was a special moment after that game [the Euros final], the togetherness when we all come in a huddle after we’d lost that, and Gareth said some really important words. As a group, I think that brought us forward together because then we had to qualify for a World Cup in the next round of games.

“We really overcame that setback of losing that final, showed our togetherness and our strength and I feel that we are in a really good place as a national team that we can keep pushing and getting better because the togetherness we’ve built is really special to be a part of.”  

Kane said: “I’ve just launched a Foundation which is really exciting for me. Talking here about different stuff - highs and lows that we’ve been through as players. That’s my aim is to, especially to the younger generation, talk to them and try and provide ways of talking about mental health and wellbeing. The more we talk about it, and open up, it will definitely help solve and hopefully encourage people not to be afraid to ask for help, especially when you are feeling a little bit lower.”

Ed Groves, managing editor of Copa90, said: “As football fans we can experience every emotion possible within 90 minutes. But while we all crave basking in collective glory, we need to remember to support each other through the harder moments - in football and in life.

“At Copa90, we’ve always believed in uniting people through football. We truly hope this episode will remind people of the power of talking when dealing with their mental health. It only takes one message to start a conversation. So as the World Cup draws closer, consider asking that simple question, ‘Fancy watching the match together?’”