Blantyre colleague Alan sets up football team to help with men's mental health

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, we're proud to support the amazing work being done by our grocery colleague Alan Dunsmore from our Blantyre store.

During the pandemic 24-year-old Alan realised that many of his friends were struggling with their mental health so, in between lockdowns, he set up a football team – Blantyre United – to make sure everyone looked out for one another.

Alan, who's worked at the store for six years and is team coach, has now arranged for the players to also meet up once in a month in the store's cafe where they can talk about any issues and problems they want to get off their chests.

He said: "We started our team as a result of the negative impact that had been placed on young men’s mental health during Covid. We pride ourselves on being there for one another and thanks to my store manager Andy and community champion Mary we were able to secure a safe space within the store's cafe where players can come and open up about their mental health.

"The cafe is a great space as nobody knows the reason why the players are there. This helps avoid the anxiety of opening up. We are so grateful to Angie, the cafe manager, too.

"If anyone wants to talk to me in private about anything they can do as well."

Store manager Andy Claase said: "We are immensely proud of Alan and are delighted he is part of our team in Blantyre."