• Prince William is using soccer to raise awareness about the importance of mental health.
• He met with England players Harry Kane and Declan Rice to discuss how they deal with disappointment.
• William also revealed that sports teach you an important lesson about dealing with consequences of defeat, which he applies in other areas of life.

Prince William is using soccer to raise awareness about the importance of mental health.

The prince, 40, met with two England soccer players to discuss how they deal with mental challenges both on and off the field ahead of the FIFA World Cup later this month.

Soccer fan William also revealed that, for him, sports teach you an important lesson about dealing with the consequences of defeat, which he then applies in other areas of life.

“You learn by playing a number of times and many other things in life that disappointment is part of life and how you handle it is crucial,” the Prince of Wales told England players Harry Kane and Declan Rice, who both suffered deep disappointment at losing the final of the Euro 2020 tournament in July 2021.

“Handling some of those really disappointing England results in the past was difficult, I found that really difficult, because the same euphoria that we had comes crashing down,” William added. “You feel high and all together, and then normal life resumes.”

Following England’s defeat in the Euros final, some players received racial abuse on social media for missing crucial penalty kicks. In response, William privately reached out to them to express his support.

Rice describes the game’s aftermath to the prince: “After that game [the Euros final], there was a special moment of togetherness when we all gathered in a huddle after we’d lost, and Gareth (England manager, Gareth Southgate) said some really important words. As a group, I believe that pushed us forward because we had to qualify for the World Cup in the next round of games.”

“We really overcame that setback of losing that final, showed our togetherness and our strength and I feel that we are in a really good place as a national team that we can keep pushing and getting better because the togetherness we’ve built is really special to be a part of,” Rice added.

A very special conversation about mental health coming tomorrow.@Copa90 @HKane @_DeclanRice pic.twitter.com/4MIwqjWMea

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) November 6, 2022

England captain Kane, who recently established his own foundation, added, “We’re talking about various topics here, including the highs and lows that we’ve experienced as players. That is my goal: to talk to the younger generation and try to provide ways for them to talk about mental health and wellbeing.”

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