Over£65kRaisedforCharityatMentalHealthWorldCup

A staggering £65,329.50 has been raised by a charity tournament organised and hosted at Vicarage Road Stadium, by the Mental Health World Cup, Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust, and WD18. This amount is thanks to team registrations and fundraising efforts, a charity auction, spectator tickets, and an event-day raffle, and will now be distributed to the benefitting charities: Goal, Mind, OLLIE, Rennie Grove Peace Hospice, and the Trust themselves.

The main goal of the tournament was clearly achieved with the amount raised and the overwhelming awareness of mental health, but there was also plenty of football on show and a tournament to win. The 32 teams competed in good spirits in the hot temperatures of Vicarage Road. To keep the football flowing through the day, as well as the main competition, there was also an award for Wooden Spoon with Kenya (Roo Army) overcoming Sweden (Gadeside Vets FC) in the final. As for the overall winner, that went to Chile (Watford Under 18s), who defeated Brazil (2-0 to the Bane FC) 3-1 in the final, with Luther Blissett OBE DL on hand to present the trophies. The winning team featured Watford FC Academy coaching staff, just a day after the Watford FC Under 18s won their semi-final in the Premier League Under-18 Professional Development League play-off final, their Mental Health World Cup team included the likes of former Hornets Lloyd Doyley, Adrian Mariappa, and Dan Gosling. Added to the star-factor were familiar faces at Vicarage Road, Marvin Sordell and Tommy Smith, who each played as part of teams that had bid for the privilege via the Mental Health World Cup auction.

Although a team sport, individual awards were also presented; Sean Walker representing Ghana (I Declare a Game of 5s FC) won the Golden Boot, whilst Jack Mooney of Brazil (2-0 to the Bane FC) won the Overall Player of the Tournament.

Founder of the Mental Health World Cup, Giancarlo Gaglione, said:

“Last year, over 6,000 people took their own life, 3/4 of them were male. My own brother was one of those statistics in 2012 when he took his own life with no signs he was struggling with depression, aged just 26. The Mental Health World Cup exists to let people know that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, to help try and raise awareness around this silent epidemic that is massively underfunded by the government.

We are delighted with the amount raised, as that will go towards our mental health charity partners who are out there literally saving lives. We hope that normalising the conversation around suicide and mental health using football, we’ll move the needle and help shift the numbers to make it a more positive society for everyone.”

Sam Ucko of WD18 said:

“It was a privilege to help organise the first-ever Mental Health World Cup at Vicarage Road this year. From the moment Giancarlo shared his story and the inspiration behind creating the tournament, we knew we wanted to play a role in bringing the event to Vicarage Road.

The football club and the trust were unwavering in their support, reinforcing our pride in a club that continues to build on the legacy of our greatest-ever manager, Graham Taylor—someone who would have wholeheartedly embraced a tournament like this.

As a fan channel, we’ve seen firsthand how mental health affects football fans. Having the opportunity to raise funds and stand against suicide while watching our closest friends and family play at the stadium was truly special—something we will never take for granted.

The funds raised will provide crucial support to people in Hertfordshire and across the country, ensuring help reaches those who need it most. Football has an incredible ability to unite and uplift, and this tournament was yet another powerful reminder of that.”

Captain of the finalists on the day, Brazil (2-0 to the Bane FC), Charlie Brisbane said:

“As a lifelong Watford supporter, it was an absolute honour and a dream come true to captain my team at the charity Mental Health World Cup event on Saturday 10th May. Walking my team out at Vicarage Road for the final was a moment I will cherish forever. We fought hard and made it to the final, where we faced off against ex-professionals.

Although we didn’t win the final, our team was one of the top fundraisers, which is a victory in itself. The experience was incredibly rewarding, and I am proud of what we achieved both on and off the pitch. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Giancarlo, WD18, Watford FC CSE Trust, and all the other volunteers involved for making this incredible event possible.”

Also in attendance was the Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, who said:

“It was great to see so many people take part in the Mental Health World Cup kick-off! The organisers deserve an enormous amount of credit for arranging such a fantastic event, raising the profile of this important issue and also raising over £65,000 for local mental health charities. Congratulations too to Lloyd Doyley and the winning team.”

The organisers (Mental Health World Cup, Watford Football Club’s Community Sports and Education Trust and WD18) would like to thank their headline sponsors, Go Cardless and Total Security, and Watford FC kit manufacturer Kelme – who supplied all 32 teams with unique shirts and shorts. As well as, the event sponsors: Celtic, The Grove, Overbury, MCS, Sale Group, and Mad Squirrel.