Sport
25 Nov 2025Aston Villa FC stars encourage local men to check their prostate cancer risk
We joined forces with Aston Villa Football Club for this year's International Men’s Day (19 November) to raise awareness of prostate cancer amongst their staff and local area.
Prostate cancer is currently the most common cancer in men in the UK. 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime – and your risk is double if you’re Black.
In England, 63,000 men are diagnosed every year, including 10,000 men in the Midlands. More than 1 in 5 local men are diagnosed too late for a cure, and sadly, 2,000 men in the Midlands die of prostate cancer every year.
Prostate cancer is the only major cancer without a screening programme, even though it’s easier to treat if caught early. Early-stage prostate cancer doesn’t usually have any symptoms. Men who are aged 50 or over, Black men, men with a family history of prostate cancer, and men with the BRCA gene are at higher risk of prostate cancer.
Together with Aston Villa Football Club, we recently delivered a series of awareness talks, sparking new conversations around men’s health, addressing local health inequalities, and breaking taboos around prostate cancer.
In the following video created by Aston Villa, four former players – James Chester, Andy Blair, Tommy Johnson and Brian Greenhalgh – talk about the important concerns regarding prostate cancer in the UK and some of their own experiences of receiving a test.
We’re delighted that this collaboration has been so warmly welcomed by everyone involved, as we’ve joined together to raise awareness and help save men’s lives.
