Mental Health World Cup 2026

By Bart Thomas, Technical Director

One sunny Saturday last month, our team stepped onto the grass for a cause that matters beyond the work week: mental health and suicide prevention. We are incredibly proud of Bart Thomas, Chris Beavis, Jack Neil, Kenneth Chan, and Stephen Bartlett, who represented Tilt at the Mental Health World Cup 2026.

The Mental Health World Cup, organised annually in the grounds of Watford Football Stadium, is a powerful movement that uses the language of sport to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and support vital suicide prevention initiatives.

For us, participating was a natural extension of our values beyond our B Corp membership and other initiatives. We believe that some of the most important "goals" in life happen off the pitch: the goal of ensuring no one has to face mental health struggles alone.

Highlights from the tournament:

A few stand-out moments included:

The team, having drawn Romania including being fully kitted out, had the honour of playing alongside ex-Watford pro Paul Robinson. As part of the charity fundraising, teams could bid for ex-pros and we took advantage of this opportunity, to raise extra funds for the charity of course (and not to get an advantage!). An extra bonus: Paul’s son Jamie, who is playing competitively,  joined our team.

Beyond the scores (3 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses), the real win was raising £1,813 (including Gift Aid) as part of the charity’s overall fund raised (over £276,000). Thank you to everyone who supported us, you can still support the charity if you’re feeling inspired through our donation page!