Maya Jama says talking openly about mental health helped her address a “spiral” of traumatic childhood events

'I was three years old when my dad went to prison and then he was in and out through the rest of my life,' said Jama

Jürgen Klopp, Jesse Lingard, Maya Jama, and others have opened up about their mental health to mark the FA Cup Final on Saturday, which is partnered with the Heads Up campaign for the first time.

The Duke of Cambridge has been spearheading Heads Up, a campaign to raise awareness of mental health and open discussion about wellbeing, since August 2019.

Now, to mark the end of the 2020 football season, current former football players, managers and famous sports fans have spoken about their personal experiences, aiming to help men in particular, and make them feel more comfortable and confident in reaching out for support.

Three instalments of the six-part #SoundofSupport interview series were released on Thursday, with two more expected on Friday 31 July, and a final film on Saturday – the morning of the final.

The first set of films focuses on a conversation between Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp and player Andy Robertson, Manchester United player Jesse Lingard and Maya Jama, and Manchester City players İlkay Gündoğan and Phil Foden.

Talking about mental health, Klopp said: “[It] helps if you don’t feel all the burden on your own shoulders. If you have a group of friends or a group of colleagues and you can create an atmosphere like this, that helps...

"I think there is no problem big enough or small enough that you cannot talk about it.”

Robertson said: “When I started making it professional, I think that’s when I struggled the most. I think only since the last year or two, since we’ve had kids and that then I’ve started to open up more. I used to be one that blocked everything up, I thought my problems are my problems.”

Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard was joined by Maya Jama in Stockport where they discussed family life, anxiety and performance pressures.

In the film, Lingard said: “Last season, I was going through some things off the field with my family so it was difficult for me to perform on the field. I’m very family orientated and my mum was going through some things last year with depression so in the meantime, I had to look after my little brother and sister who’s 12 and 15.

“You just get to that point where you’re like, I’ve got to actually say something. I spoke to my family and stuff like that. It felt so much better.”

Maya said how talking openly helped her address a “spiral” of traumatic events in her childhood. She said: “I was three years old when my dad went to prison and then he was in and out through the rest of my life. And then when I was sixteen, my boyfriend was murdered. I moved to London and then had to live with a family member but they were on drugs.

“For a while I used to be embarrassed about talking about it. But then as I got older, I realised – me sharing this there’s going to be so many people who’ve gone through similar things... Once you see somebody having that conversation it’s like ‘Ah ok, it’s not that bad, I can do that too.”

On Tuesday Prince William appeared on BBC Five Live’s That Peter Crouch Podcast, to discuss his own mental health in the lead up to the FA Cup Final.

Heads Up is working with charity partners Mind, CALM, Heads Together and Sporting Chance to make sure everyone can find the support they need. For 24/7 support, you can text ‘HeadsUp’ to 85258 to connect with a trained crisis volunteer who will chat to you by text message.