Norwich City FC want to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention with silent ‘Speaking Minute’, encouraging fans to talk to each other
The Norwich City FC decided to break with tradition in an attempt to raise public awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. For this weekend’s match against Hull City, the club introduced an innovative initiative called “Minute of exchanges”.
Instead of observing the usual minute’s silence, fans at the Carrow Road Stadium were invited to actively participate in conversations about mental health with the people around them. This initiative was organized in collaboration with the Samaritans, a British association that offers support to those in emotional difficulty.
The main objective was to highlight the importance of communication and connection between peopleremembering that, in the United Kingdom, a person takes their own life every 90 minutes. Through this action, Norwich City FC wanted to demonstrate that a simple conversation can make a difference in someone’s life.
In 2023 the club launched the “You are not alone” campaign
More than 25,000 spectators attended the “Minute Unsilenced” inside the stadium, where messages appeared on the giant screens that they encouraged dialoguesuch as “How was your week?”. This invitation had the effect of breaking the silence typical of commemorative moments, promoting instead an atmosphere of openness and sharing.
Samaritans volunteers were present in the stands to offer assistance to anyone who felt they needed it, underlining the importance of having someone to talk to. “Minute Unsilenced” is part of Norwich City FC’s wider commitment to raising awareness of mental health.
This initiative, in fact, is part of the activities organized by the club for celebrate World Mental Health Dayheld on October 10th. With gestures like this, Norwich City hope to help normalize discussions around mental health within the world of football, a space often characterized by taboos around emotional and personal topics.
This is not the first time Norwich City FC has taken up this cause. In 2023 the club had launched the “You are not alone” campaignwhich had reached millions of people globally, spreading a message of hope and encouragement.
With the success of these initiatives, the British club continues to demonstrate its commitment to making football one social awareness tooldemonstrating that a small gesture, like a conversation, is enough to have a big impact. Projects that we should also copy, given that the plague of loneliness and suicide is something globally widespread and which must be combated by offering help and understanding.
