In January 2025, CITC joined forces with Movember, a global mental health and suicide prevention charity, and Rugby League Cares, a wellbeing and welfare charity, to deliver ‘Ahead of the Game’.
‘Ahead of the Game’ sessions, which form part of City Mentoring, aim to support and promote the mental wellbeing of young people across Greater Manchester, through targeted inversions, sessions and workshops with City in the Community.
Data from a recent survey showed that 92% of participants felt more confident in their ability to talk to or help a friend, with 97% agreeing they now know where to access mental health information.*
Another 97% of participants agreed that they now have a better understanding of behaviours that can keep them mentally fit, with 90% of them reporting they have a better understanding of mental health.
CITC Community Mentoring Manager, Jason El-Kaleh, spoke about the importance the collaboration is having on the young participants:
“Since launching our partnership with Movember and Rugby League Cares at the start of 2025, we’ve seen first-hand the impact that ‘Ahead of the Game’ can have.
“By using the power of sport to empower healthier lives through football, we’re taking mental health conversations into environments where young people feel most comfortable, helping them to build resilience, improve their understanding, and feel more confident supporting themselves and others.”
CITC’s City Mentoring programme is aimed at engaging young people aged between eight and 23, who are at risk of serious youth violence and criminality, alongside young people who need extra support and guidance due to negative factors within their lives.
During the 2024/2025 season, City Mentoring delivered 349 hours of sessions, providing 26 unique participants with an average of 17 hours of contact time.
Sitting under the Healthy People pillar, the provision is accessed through direct referrals from a number of referral pathways, and the mentoring is adaptable to the individual needs of the participant, creating a bespoke plan that is targeted to the interests and levels of risk associated with the individuals.
To find out more information on the City Mentoring programme, visit: mancity.com/mentoring
To find out more about Movember, visit: https://uk.movember.com/
If you want to support CITC and its participants, enter this month’s Prize Draw competition, for the chance to win a Full Squad Signed Home Shirt, a Haaland CWC Signed Shirt and more.
The City in the Community Prize Draw is powered by Raise Your Game, and your support will go towards sustaining the charity’s programmes, which empower healthier lives through football.
Entries start at £5 per ticket; fans can enter on a one-off basis, or they can sign up to a direct debit, meaning they enter the draw monthly automatically**
City in the Community empowers healthier lives through football. To find out more, visit www.mancity.com/citc or follow @citcmancity on social media.
*Outcome data from 145 participants who were surveyed by Movember.
**Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Cambodia, Qatar, Lebanon, and North Korea are the only excluded countries from the prize draw.
