In January, my youngest son set a personal goal of 250,000 kick ups in 2025. It was based on the idea of going out in the garden at least four days a week after school and doing 1,000.

Sam loves football and wants to have a life in sport. Though he doesn't understand a lot about the system, he sees the pressure that elite players are under and the fact that some players are at the top for a short period of time.

I will continue to fundraise beyond 2025, but for this year...the effort is through Sam and his focus with a football.

Why I Believe in Switch the Play

Sport captivates us with its drama, its discipline, and its brilliance. But behind every professional athlete is a human being, often young, often vulnerable, navigating the harsh transition from a structured, high-performance environment into the unknown. This transition, when unsupported, can lead to devastating consequences. And too often, it does.

The death of Graham Thorpe in 2024, as well as Gary Speed in 2011 and others, reminded us of the fragility of life, and the systemic failures around duty of care in sport. These aren’t isolated tragedies. They’re evidence of a sector, that in the past has prioritised marginal gains over long-term welfare; that profits from the heights athletes reach, but does not plan for their safe descent.

The traits that define elite athletes, focus, obsession and drive, are the same traits that can unravel them in retirement if left unsupported. Sport invests deeply in performance, but insufficiently in people.

There is a better way…

• What if sport, saw welfare as part of performance, not separate from it?

• What if post-career care was embedded, funded collaboratively, by athletes, employers, governing bodies, and sponsors?

• What if the success of a sporting system was measured not only in medals, but in the wellbeing of those who leave it?

Switch the Play exists to realise that vision.

Founded by people who ‘get it’, former athletes and industry specialists, Switch the Play stands for something vital: that the end of a sporting career should not mean the end of purpose, identity, or belonging. Their mission is to empower sportspeople to plan for and manage a successful transition to life outside of sport, something that is essential, not optional.

Their work goes beyond crisis response. It’s about preparation, education, and self-discovery. It recognises that the transition away from sport can be as daunting as a career-ending injury, and that without meaningful support, that transition can lead to isolation, depression, or worse. Switch the Play helps fill that gap, not as a replacement for player associations or clubs, but as a critical part of a broader solution.

They are driven by values that matter…

Excellence, Passion, Person-Centredness, Collaboration, and Independence

…all qualities that resonate with those of us who have worked in and around sport, or who care deeply for those in it. And they don’t just talk about the problem, they do something about it.

To me, Switch the Play is not just a charity. It is a symbol of what sport should be: a community that doesn’t forget its people when the cheers fade.

Supporting Switch the Play,

• Is in memory of the Graham Thorpes of this world

• Is for the athletes still competing who may one day find themselves wondering, “What now?”

• Is because sport should never celebrate a player’s rise while ignoring their fall.

This isn’t just about one organisation. It’s about a duty of care that should define the next chapter in the evolution of sport. But Switch the Play is leading the way, and they need all of us to walk alongside them.

With Love, DTN