As football fans prepare for a nail-biting finals weekend of football finals, suicide prevention and intervention organisation, Men’s Minds Matter is harnessing the feelings of anxiety to encourage men to be more open about their mental health.

While Manchester City and Arsenal fans anxiously await to see if their teams will snatch the title, Mental Health Awareness Week is also underway. Combining the two to encourage men to have more conversations about their feelings, ‘Anxious every day, not just matchday?’ is a new campaign from Men’s Minds Matter created by Media Bounty in partnership with Ocean Outdoor which speaks to anxious football fans.

Despite the ongoing work of mental health charities to break down taboos, suicide rates amongst men are at the highest they’ve been for 25 years. To encourage men to talk more about their emotions, Men’s Minds Matter is taking a different, more light-hearted approach and using sport as a vehicle to encourage conversations about all kinds of mentions.

Out-of-home installations across London and Manchester speak directly to City fans and Gooners offering practical advice on how to deal with anxiety. Tips such as breathing exercises or encouraging people to lean into nerves and see them as positive are on display to help nervous fans.

“If you know an Arsenal or City fan… you know there’s only one thing on their mind this week. Central to Men’s Minds Matters’ clinical model is arming people with the skills to deal with emotions like anxiety. This was the perfect opportunity to tell that story – with a light touch perfect for our audience. Of course, if you feel like this every week, there’s help available at MensMindsMatter.org.” explains Tommy Lee, Senior Copywriter at Media Bounty and Director at Men’s Minds Matter.

Taking a more lighthearted approach to encourage the kinds of live-saving conversations that can be had when men feel comfortable talking about their emotions, the campaign capitalises on the power of sport and its capacity for connection.