Spinney’s Warren Hudson is hoping to raise CALM awareness

Warren Hudson is the boss of West Brom Spinney, who play in the popular Central Warwickshire Over-35s League.

A competition that features a host of former pros, the likes of Joleon Lescott, Lee Hendrie, Lee Carsley, Maik Taylor and Darren Byfield are just some of the veterans showcasing their skills in the division.

Since being founded by Hudson seven years ago, West Brom Spinney have enjoyed a meteoric rise that has seen them win five promotions to reach the Premier Division.

But back in February, Hudson suffered the heartbreaking loss of a friend – with the football boss first on the scene after his pal decided to commit suicide.

After deciding to research suicide, Hudson discovered The Campaign Against Living Miserably – or CALM, as it is more commonly known.

The charity offers nationwide support 365 days a year to people suffering with depression and suicidal thoughts.

To raise awareness of their excellent work, Hudson got in contact with the organisation to see if they would like their logo to feature on West Brom Spinney’s shirts.

And when they agreed, the boss then changed Spinney’s strip from blue and white stripes to a striking pink in order to give the charity maximum exposure.

“It was back in February that my neighbour and friend committed suicide – which was incredibly tough,” Hudson said.

“It led to me doing some research into suicide and I just didn’t realise what a massive killer it is – it is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the country.

“It was hard losing my friend and it was also hard to learn just how common it is.

“I’ve got a friend who is in PR and who had been doing some work with CALM. They are doing everything they can to help people who are feeling suicidal.

“And I just thought I’m the manager of a fairly successful veterans team – it would be great to get their logo on our shirts to raise awareness.

“If just one person picks up the phone to ask for help then, for me, all our efforts will have been worthwhile.”

As well as putting the logo on his team’s shirts, Hudson has also made contact with the Central Warwickshire Over-35s League in the hope they will adopt CALM as the division’s designated charity.

And the boss says his side’s striking new team shirts have proven a major talking point in the opening two games of the season – matches West Brom Spinney have both won.

“We’ve got more than 2,000 players who play in the Central Warwickshire veterans league,” Hudson continued.

“This feels like such a worthy cause so I just want to raise as much awareness as possible because I hate the thought of anyone – whether a player in the league or not – struggling.

“Being based in West Brom, we played in blue and white stripes in previous seasons.

“But the new pink kit certainly gets a lot of comments. It’s the first thing people see and we love it.

“We volunteer the information about CALM and I have had a call with the league chairman to explain what we are doing why we are doing it.

“The league are looking to form an affiliation with a charity so we’ve had a chat about that as well.

“Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives, with 75 per cent of them male.

“CALM are doing everything they can to lower that number, we just want as many people as possible to know they are out there and ready to help.”

For more information about CALM, visit www.thecalmzone.net/ or call 0800 585858.