‘Beckham’ to star at City’s 1 in 4 Tournament

David Beckham fans will be in their element at Cambridge City Football Club this Sunday (19 October) when Beckham look alike Paul Mansley — seen recently on BBC TV's The Apprentice — joins local employers at a unique football tournament promoting the Cambridge pilot of a major mental health anti-stigma campaign.

“Beckham” will be special guest at the ‘1 in 4 in the City’ tournament — part of the Time to Change campaign which is challenging the stigma and discrimination regularly faced by 1 in 4 people in the UK who experience mental health problems at some point in their lives.

The campaign's own football team — 1 in 4 FC — will be competing against teams from 11 local employers at the Cambridge City FC ground in Milton Road. The event kicks off at 12 noon and is open to all. Entry is free.

The tournament is being run by four local partners — Cambridge City Football Club, the mental health charity Cam-mind, Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire Community Services. It also marks the start of a longer term partnership between Cambridge City FC and the local mental health charity Cam-mind who are planning to start weekly football coaching sessions for local mental health service users.

As part of this commitment Cambridge City recently named Cam-mind as its charity “sponsor” — and now sports the charity's logo on the back of its strip. It is the first non-league club in the area to support a charity in this way.

This partnership between a football club and mental health charity is a first for Cambridge and takes the lead from the Football Association (FA) which is committed to using football to tackle discrimination and enable people experiencing mental health problems to live more independent and fulfilling lives. Among the teams taking part in Sunday's 1 in 4 in the City tournament are: Marshall's FC, John Lewis, Jagex, Cambridge City Supporters Trust, Network Rail, Addenbrooke's Hospital, NHS Cambridgeshire, Legends Bar and 1 in 4 FC.

For further information and photo opportunity details please contact Nichola Jones on 07777 626663 or Diana Jakubowska on 01223 726760, or 07949 004378