KEIGHLEY Cougars are today proud to announce an extension of our ground-breaking mental health partnership with It’s Worth Talking About into a third season.

The partnership, which began in October of 2020, has seen the club and the organisation continuously support each other through promotional campaigns on social media, on gamedays, and in the town of Keighley itself.

Both the club and the organisation took the partnership one step further in May of this year with our first ever mental health awareness fixture at Cougar Park.

There was also the launch of the Keighley Cougars x It’s Worth Talking About polo shirts which raised money for the organisation after a large number of sales helped by the fantastic support of the Cougar Army.

On top of all this, It’s Worth Talking About also run the Cougar Talk sessions at the ground in conjunction with the club’s foundation with the group set to relaunch on Monday’s following its summer hiatus.

Following the Cougars promotion to the Betfred Championship for the 2023 season, we as a club want to continue to help promote and spread the message of It’s Worth Talking About and positive mental health to the larger audience and exposure that being in the second tier brings with it.

The organisation has also provided support, comfort, and helped members of the club’s staff and also Keighley Cougars supporters in the nearly three years since it launched.

It’s Worth Talking About co-founder, and Keighley Cougars supporter, Ryan Anderton said of the extension of the partnership: “Having the support of the only professional Rugby League club in the town is amazing.

“Having this relationship with the Keighley Cougars allows us to continue building on the solid foundations we laid during our infancy in 2020 and 2021.

“The partnership being ourselves and the Cougars is one that keeps going from strength to strength.

“Whether it be hosting the Keighley men’s group during Covid, working with us to host the Cougars Talks sessions, allowing us to be a part of the Modality events at the ground, or the polo shirts and awareness game back in May.

“The message of mental health, and the audience that the club allows us to reach spread that message, is one that I have seen first hand help many people.

“Hopefully we can again host an awareness game next season and continue to help, inspire, and reach out, to those who need our services.

“I can not thank the O’Neill family, Joshua Chapman, and the Keighley Cougars players, staff, and supporters, enough for their support and promotion of us.

“Hopefully we like the club can continue to drive forward in 2023.”

It’s Worth Talking About are a mental health support group which was founded in early 2020 in the heart of Keighley by Anderton and his fellow co-founder, Andy Clements.

After initially starting with a single men’s group in Keighley and a women’s group in Haworth prior to lockdown, the changing landscape of the world and the need for support has seen the support group expand across the local area and beyond.

It’s Worth Talking about now run weekly men’s, women’s, and mixed mental health peers support groups in Keighley, Haworth, Thornton, Wilsden, Silsden, Bingley, Cross Roads, Glusburn, Bradford, and Mytholmroyd.

The organisation also continues to break ground with the young person’s group for those aged between 13 and 16 every Tuesday night in Haworth.

The Keighley Cougars make a vow to continue the support to those who work tirelessly to help with the battle against mental health, even more so in the uncertain times, and challenges, presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are proud to support both the ongoing battles for those who struggle with mental health within both of our club and our local community.

And we will continue to support those who struggle with mental health issues and would like to remind all those associated with the club that you can message ourselves, or reach out for support through the club, whenever you need to talk.

For more information, you can visit the It’s Worth Talking About website by clicking HERE

By Joshua Chapman