Mental health leads at rugby clubs across the UK will receive free mobile connectivity, keeping them connected to club members when they need it most.
- Through its everyone.connected initiative, Vodafone will provide free connectivity to LooseHeadz mental health leads at clubs across the UK, so they can stay connected to club members when they need it most on Vodafone’s reliable, award-winning network*.
- everyone.connected aims to address the unequal access to the connectivity, digital skills, and technologies needed to participate in an increasingly digital society, and includes initiatives focussed on increasing the digital capacity of charities across the UK.
- Mental health leads, or ‘LooseHeadz’, are an assigned point of contact for mental health matters, creating a safe environment for everyone, from players to coaches and staff, to talk openly about their mental health and provide crucial guidance on how to improve mental fitness.
- Gwen Crabb and Captain Hannah Jones, LooseHeadz Ambassadors and Wales Internationals, visited Old Penarthians RFC alongside Rob Shotton, LooseHeadz Co-Founder, to mark the launch of the new partnership.
Vodafone has announced a new partnership with LooseHeadz, rugby’s mental health charity focussed on tackling the stigma around discussing mental health and providing dedicated leads for UK clubs to support mental fitness.
As Official Connectivity Partner, Vodafone will be supporting LooseHeadz in its mission by providing every mental health lead in the UK with SIM cards and free mobile connectivity through its everyone.connected initiative, so they can stay connected to club members when they need it most on Vodafone’s reliable, award-winning network*.
To mark the launch of the new partnership, Hannah Jones and Gwen Crabb, LooseHeadz ambassadors and Welsh Internationals, delivered a training session to the women’s team at the Old Penarthians RFC. The aim of the session was to introduce LooseHeadz to the rugby club members, giving them valuable insights and education on mental health, while emphasising the importance of building a supportive club culture.
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As the Founding Principal Partner of Wales Women and Girls’ rugby and Principal Partner to the Wales Men’s senior rugby team and pathway teams, Vodafone is committed to supporting the development of rugby at all levels. This latest partnership builds upon the continued investment in grassroots clubs and programmes, helping to develop the next generation of talent.
Vodafone believes that connectivity is essential and that everyone should benefit from the opportunities it provides.
All LooseHeadz partner clubs in the UK can apply for free Vodafone SIM cards through LooseHeadz, via the everyone.connected initiative.
Max Taylor, Chief Commercial Officer at Vodafone UK said: “I’m very proud to be supporting the crucial work LooseHeadz do in building mental health resilience and breaking down stigmas within the rugby community across the UK. Their mental health leads play a key role in this, and we are thrilled to be keeping them connected to players, coaches and staff through our everyone.connected programme on Vodafone’s reliable award-winning network.”
Rob Shotton, Co-Founder at LooseHeadz said: “Teaming up with Vodafone is a game-changer for LooseHeadz. It’s more than a partnership; it’s a commitment to using the power of connectivity with the strength of rugby to champion mental health, whilst emphasising the importance of staying connected and looking out for one another. We’re especially thrilled to focus on women and girls’ rugby in Wales, supporting their health and wellbeing. LooseHeadz is immensely proud to start working with Vodafone to make a lasting impact in rugby.”
It’s more than a partnership; it’s a commitment to using the power of connectivity with the strength of rugby to champion mental health
Emma White, Team Manager at Old Penarthians RFC said: “Through this partnership with LooseHeadz and Vodafone we’re focussing on the importance of being connected to the mental wellbeing of players and staff. The fact [Vodafone] is giving away these SIM cards to our mental health leads, means we can all make sure we stay in touch and check in on people. There’s a lot going on in people’s lives other than just rugby so [this] is going to really help.”
Vodafone also announced the launch of sports.connected, part of Vodafone’s everyone.connected campaign, which is working with Sported to give sports clubs across the UK the connectivity and skills they need to stay connected and participate fully in an increasingly digital society.
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*Reliable, award-winning network: The UK relies on Vodafone as a network provider as it: i) powers critical national infrastructure and 77% of emergency services, ii) has coverage in 99% of UK homes, iii) covers 96% of the UK and iv) has won numerous awards. See full details and awards on our Network page.
About everyone.connected
Sports.connected is part of Vodafone’s everyone.connected campaign, which is committed to helping four million people cross the digital divide before the end of 2025, giving them the connectivity and skills they need to stay connected and participate fully in an increasingly digital society.
The LooseHeadz partnership builds upon Vodafone’s commitment to support sports at all levels, adding to an extensive range of existing partnerships including Principal Partner to the Wales Men’s senior rugby team and pathway teams, Founding Principal Partner of Wales women and girls’ rugby, Armed Forces Men’s and Women’s Rugby Teams and Premier XVs side DMP Sharks.
About LooseHeadz
The LooseHeadz Foundation (registered charity number #1193051) is rugby’s mental health charity working to #TackleTheStigma. Their mission is to place a mental health lead at every rugby club around the world, and provide them with a toolkit of free resources to support the mental health of players, coaches, volunteers and fans. LooseHeadz currently works with over 900 rugby clubs in 20 different countries around the world, providing access to online training, talking groups, signposting content, a wellbeing check-in platform and much more. This mission is supported by some of rugby’s most recognisable organisations, including the RFU, WRU, Premiership Rugby and the MLR.
