Footballer to fund former club's suicide campaign

A former Oxford United player will continue to fund its suicide prevention campaign, despite leaving the club over the summer.

Former Yellows midfielder Will Vaulks signed for his boyhood club Tranmere Rovers in August, bringing an end to his two year spell at the Kassam.

During his time in the city, the 32-year-old spearheaded the club's Can We Talk? campaign, focusing on mental health awareness in the workplace.

Despite his recent departure, Vaulks said he would continue to fund the campaign - for which he won the the Fifpro Players Voice award in 2025.

Ryan Maher, who co-founded the scheme - which began in 2024 - alongside Vaulks, said: "None of this happens without Will."

"He's raised the profile of suicide prevention across Oxfordshire for two years, and even though he's moved on, his funding means we can keep training the community for the next 12 months."

The club said the fresh funding would be used to launch a new initiative to offer suicide prevention training to grassroots football clubs across Oxfordshire.

It will also be used to cover the cost of training for the club's season ticket holders.

Earlier this year, Vaulks said he had spent the past year trying to get every other football club in England to sign up to his campaign.

"I want football clubs to realise that it's out there, we can support you, we can put into place what we've done at Oxford and actually you have a responsibility to do it," the former Wales international said.

"You've got young men and women in your care that there currently is not enough support for - you need to be doing it."

Vaulks previously lost both of his grandfathers to suicide within the space of a year, which he said spurred him on to "want to have an impact on making a change".

"Instead of me just coming on and talking about my loss, I want to actually put things in place that prevent suicides," he said.

His own grief, alongside the loss of U's legend Joey Beauchamp and fan Jack Badger to suicide in recent years, prompted Vaulks to lead the club's campaign.

"Suicide prevention is part of who we are as a Club," Maher said.

"These next steps are about ensuring Oxford United creates a suicide prevention legacy, reaching our community of staff, supporters and non-supporters every single year."

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