Everton in the Community has joined forces with the Blues Principal Partner, SportPesa, in a partnership that will see them become an Official Partner of the Club’s charitable arm.

The partnership will see SportPesa provide funding for Everton in the Community’s long-standing flagship mental health programme ‘Imagine Your Goals’, which since April 2018 has been funded internally using finite charity resources since it was affected by external NHS budget cuts.

One in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, while nationally suicide is the leading cause of death for men under the age of 50.

Through its five football therapy sessions each week, Imagine Your Goals has been at the forefront of tackling these issues on Merseyside for over 10 years and supports over 200 individuals each week, offering people who are living with mental health issues an opportunity to talk about their problems and seek help and support in a familiar environment.