Play-off finals to kick off late to spotlight CPR

This weekend, the three English Football League play-off finals will kick off one minute earlier than expected in an effort to raise awareness of the Every Minute Matters campaign.

Both the League Two showpiece between AFC Wimbledon and Walsall on Saturday and the Championship final between Sunderland and Sheffield United will begin at 15:01 BST.

At 13:01 BST, Charlton and Leyton Orient’s League One game will begin.

The special kick-off times are intended to highlight the collaboration between EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which emphasizes the value of CPR education.

Tom Lockyer, the captain of Luton, fell just eight minutes into their 2023 Championship play-off final defeat to Coventry, who the Hatters won on penalties.

In a Premier League game at Bournemouth, Lockyer experienced cardiac arrest seven months later.

Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador, said: “One of the more than 30 000 people in the UK who experiences an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year.

It’s important to keep raising awareness that less than one in ten people actually survive, which is why I’m fortunate to be alive today. The symbolic opening remarks make our lifesaving message “unavoidable.”

With a goal of utilizing 360, 000 people to use the British Heart Foundation’s online RevivR tool and starting to learn the lifesaving technique, the campaign aims to inspire supporters to learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

Every Minute Matters continues to use the power and visibility of football to inspire even more people to learn CPR, according to EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch, by kicking off all three play-off finals one minute later.

The British Heart Foundation’s chief executive, Dr. Charmaine Griffiths, said: “With millions of eyes on the play-off finals, it’s incredible to have the support of the EFL in our effort to inspire more fans to learn this lifesaving skill.