Established by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the Professional Players Federation and Mind in 2015, the Charter works to provide sport and recreation organisations with best practice so that they can make a positive difference to mental ill health.

To date, 260 organisations have signed up to the Charter and committed to make their activities more open and accessible to everyone, including those with mental health problems.

Seventy-eight per cent of Charter signatories said that since signing up there has been a positive culture change in their organisation about being more inclusive towards mental health.

Eighty per cent of signatories also reported that from the time they committed to the Charter, staff, volunteers and participants in their organisation feel more open about discussing mental health.

The Charter’s Steering Group, which consists of its three founders, is urging more sport and recreation organisations to commit to it and benefit from creating a more inclusive culture.

Crouch has echoed these calls, saying: "Participating in sport and physical activity can have a huge benefit to a person's mental wellbeing as well as their physical health.

"This is why we made mental health one of the key outcomes of the Government's sports strategy with public funding made available to projects that can deliver on this front.

"The Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation complements our work and is supporting organisations in the sector to implement projects that benefit people across the country. 

"I encourage any organisation not already a signatory to sign up to the Charter."

Charter signatory, the Rugby Players’ Association, recently launched the #LiftTheWeight campaign which aims to remove the stigma surrounding mental health by sharing the stories of team-mates and peers.

 #LiftTheWeight is an example of the action Charter signatories are taking in an attempt to create a greater understanding of mental health and use the collective power of sport and recreation to promote positive mental wellbeing.

"The Charter was established to bring sport and recreation organisations together to tackle the stigma that surrounds mental health," a statement from the steering group said. 

"Sport and recreation has a responsibility to challenge this stigma and we will continue to keep working with organisations to help them put in place good mental health practice."

Today’s second-year anniversary celebrations were held in partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL).

"We’re delighted to welcome our most recent signatories of the Charter, LLDC and GLL and are very grateful to them for providing us with this fantastic venue to celebrate the two-year anniversary," the statement added.

"It’s brilliant that volunteers from Motivate East, which offers health and physical activity projects in seven East London boroughs surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, could come along and help us celebrate by hosting a game of boccia.

"We must continue to raise the profile of sport and recreation’s role in helping to promote positive mental wellbeing and as a group, we will continue to support meaningful programmes that cater to the needs of all groups within our society."