Inside Hampton & Richmond FC’s special partnership with Movember

Men will die on average four years earlier than women. This is the sharp and cutting message plastered across Movember’s website. 

For over a year, Hampton & Richmond FC have been donning the infamous Movember moustache on the front of their shirts. Their innovative approach to sponsorship not only catches the eye, but also delivers change in the community and beyond.

The South West London club receives no money from the partnership, and instead, the partnership means that the club itself commits to raising money for the charity.

Movember is the world’s largest men’s health charity. The movement, which started in 2003, aims to raise awareness and tackle issues around men’s health, including mental health and suicide prevention, prostate and testicular cancer and being a man.

According to the website, around 10.8 million men are facing life with a prostate cancer diagnosis. Furthermore, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men around the world and one man dies every minute of every day, with males making up 69% of all suicides.

Movember and Hampton & Richmond the perfect mix

James Newman is a member of the board for Hampton & Richmond and is responsible for bringing Movember to the Beveree Stadium. “Being at the centre of a community, a football club has a unique platform and ability to get people behind a cause. If you can marry a cause with values and identity, then you have a magic mix,” James exclusively told the Sports Gazette.

“We wanted a partnership that was going to have that storytelling element of what the club wanted to do. It was going to do something a bit different and have an impact element.

“That’s how we approached it. I think it does allow us, in the right way, to punch above our weight, with that identity and cut through. That was probably an appeal, the club, and in particular its values, and then the story that we wanted to tell fit with that Movember brand piece as well.”

Ted Lasso links

When moustaches and Richmond unite, it is difficult not to think of Ted Lasso. The iconic football comedy-drama has delivered American tourists to Hampton & Richmond, who provide an obvious attraction for those seeking a real-life footballing love story.

“The guys of Movember were seduced by some of the extra reach that happened in Richmond because of the eyeballs of Ted Lasso,” James continued.

“I always talk of it as this kind of double-edged sword, but you’d be stupid not to use it to your advantage. At the same time, you can’t throw every other piece of identity out of the window in order to jump on that bandwagon.

“American eyeballs are on us, and I’ve seen in the club shop American tourists turning up and spending 400 quid, which is just absurd.

“We want people who like Ted Lasso to know that in the area there has been a club there for more than a hundred years, and it’s a really nice experience. You should come and check it out.”

Movember’s Ahead of the Game program

Ahead of the Game is a youth mental health program initiated by Movember, which targets those in the sporting community. It teaches players, coaches, parents, officials and volunteers to understand mental health and helps players to tackle the challenges that arise in sport and life.

Last year, the Beavers joined forces with Premier League outfit, Fulham, to deliver the program. With hundreds of children taking part, the clubs exposed young people to the key messages of the partnership. Furthermore, the club raised significant funds for the men’s health charity. 

“The official number of students that go through our youth program is around six or seven hundred,” James continued. “Our aim this year is to try and reach every kid within the program. In terms of fundraising, we raised over £20,000 last year. That was purely from the moustache growing of the Hampton Richmond team and everyone in the club.”

Movember Match vs Aveley FC

Hampton & Richmond take on Aveley FC on November 23rd, which will mark the club’s ‘Movember Match’. Proceeds from the National League South clash will go towards the men’s health cause and donations can be made following the link at the bottom of this page.

“Extra money from tickets goes to the cause. This year our target is to reach over £40,000, which obviously would be fantastic for us to be able to raise that much. Then there’s the campaigning element which is very important to remember, which is using that platform and natural engagement that happens with football and with your local club.

“The Movember game will have a moment of non-silence before the game, which is meant to prompt that whole process of discussion around not staying silent. If you are struggling with mental health, or you think a friend is struggling, you can’t stay silent. There’s that campaigning awareness element, which is very, very important to remember and harder to quantify in terms of measurement, but it’s very important.”

Whether it is sporting a moustache, or donating to the cause, there are several ways to raise awareness of men’s health. Through their unique sponsor, Hampton & Richmond players impact lives whenever they put on the shirt.

Feature image credit: GRTourist, Thom Lang

Link to donate: Hampton & Richmond Movember