This World Suicide Prevention Day, DBA Africa is changing the conversation around mental health in sport. Sport teaches us to keep going, to get back up after a tackle, to run the next phase when our legs are tired, to train after a difficult loss, to trust our teammates when the pressure is high but there is another lesson sport must teach us: It is okay to say when you are not okay.

On 10th September, World Suicide Prevention Day gives the world an opportunity to talk openly about suicide prevention and mental health. The 2026 theme, “Changing the Narrative on Suicide,” calls on communities to challenge stigma and start the conversation. For the sports community, that conversation matters. Behind the jersey is a person, an athlete can look confident on the field and still be struggling away from it. The pressure to perform, selection disappointments, injuries, financial uncertainty, academic demands, expectations from family, transitions after school or sport, and the fear of letting teammates down can all affect an athlete's wellbeing. Sometimes the person scoring the winning try is also carrying a burden nobody sees. Sometimes the athlete who is always encouraging everyone else needs someone to ask: “How are you really doing?” That is why mental wellbeing cannot be treated as something separate from athlete development.

We need to redefine strength. In sport, strength is often associated with physical ability, but real strength can also mean asking for help. It can mean speaking to a coach, teammate, teacher, parent, counsellor or another trusted adult. It can mean recognising that taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body and for coaches, teachers, parents and teammates, strength means creating environments where people can speak without fear of being judged.

Coaches are more than tacticians

A coach sees an athlete repeatedly. They see the energy change. They notice when someone who normally participates becomes withdrawn. They may notice when an athlete stops engaging with teammates, loses interest in activities they once enjoyed, or seems different from their usual self. That does not make the coach a mental-health professional, but it does mean coaches can play an important role in creating a culture where athletes know that speaking up is acceptable and that seeking appropriate support is not a weakness. The coach doesn't always need to have the answer. Sometimes the first step is simply listening and connecting the athlete with the right support.

Sport should build people, not just performers

At DBA Africa, we believe sport has the power to develop much more than physical skills. It can build confidence, belonging, friendships, leadership, discipline and resilience, but that only happens when athletes are treated as whole people. A young player should know that their value is bigger than a scoreline. A teenager should know that selection does not define their worth. An athlete recovering from injury should know that their identity is bigger than their availability to play and a young person struggling away from the field should know that they do not have to carry everything alone.

Start the conversation

This World Suicide Prevention Day, let us change the way we talk about mental health in sport. Let's make checking in normal. Let's make listening normal. Let's make asking for support normal. Let's build teams where looking after one another is part of the culture, because sometimes the most important conversation doesn't happen during the team talk, at half-time or after the final whistle. Sometimes it starts with two simple words: “Are you okay?” And when someone says they are struggling, let's not dismiss them, shame them or tell them simply to “be strong.” Let's listen. Let's take them seriously. Let's connect them to appropriate support, because every athlete is more than their performance. Every teammate is more than their statistics. Every young person is more than their results.

This World Suicide Prevention Day, DBA Africa is choosing to start the conversation.