Adelaide Oval will be decked out in purple for the Crows’ Round 16 clash with North Melbourne this Saturday afternoon, in support of research into mental illness.

As part of its partnership with Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, Adelaide Football Club is helping raise awareness and funds for the Nine Lives Project – an initiative launched last year that supports research into suicide prevention. In Australia, nine people die from suicide every day.

As Australia’s first and only dedicated mental health research foundation, Breakthrough’s vision is to help create a life free from mental illness by supporting ground-breaking research to better understand what causes mental illness, how to treat it, and ultimately, how to prevent it from happening in the first place.

There are a number of ways fans can show support for Breakthrough and the Nine Lives Project this week, including:

Buy a virtual seat

At Saturday’s match, behind the goals at the southern end of Adelaide Oval will be nine empty purple seats representing the nine lives that are tragically lost to suicide every day.

Fans can buy a virtual seat for someone they’ve lost and wish could be at the game on Saturday at the Nine Lives Project website.

Every purchase of a virtual seat puts you in the running for a chance to toss the coin on Saturday at Adelaide Oval. The winner will be selected at random and given tickets to the game.

Purchase a Breakthrough beanie

Those attending the clash with the Kangaroos can purchase a $20 beanie at the Breakthrough merchandise stands at Adelaide Oval’s southern and eastern gates to make a direct contribution to the cause.

All proceeds from the sale of the beanies will go towards funding research and programs for those who need it most.

Bid for a signed special release training guernsey

Adelaide fans also have the chance to bid for a player-signed special release training guernsey which is not available through retail.

The purple guernseys were worn by the AFL squad at Wednesday’s main training session, with each player signing their guernsey afterwards.

The auction, raising funds for Breakthrough, will open at 10am on Thursday, June 29 and close at 4pm on Wednesday, July 5. Bids can be made via the following portal: galabid.com/ninelives

Foodland has also thrown its support behind the initiative and will donate $500 for each Crows goal kicked on Saturday.

Breakthrough CEO John Mannion encouraged people to get behind the cause.

“One of our most challenging facts is that nine people lose their lives to suicide every day in Australia. I am sure everyone can agree that one is too many, and more needs to be done to change this situation; to help save lives,” Mannion said.

“That’s why, with the support of the Adelaide Crows, Breakthrough established the Nine Lives Project – an initiative that raises funds for research into suicide prevention.

“The Club, its members, and its fans have always shown an ability to come together in solidarity with one another. We need that now more than ever, so we ask everyone to come together again to help create a life free from mental illness.”

For more information about the work Breakthrough does, visit their website here.