Wembley Stadium (Image: Nick Potts)
SUNDERLAND’S play-off final against Sheffield United will kick-off one minute later than scheduled.
The 3.01pm kick-off time is designed to raise awareness of the Every Minute Matters campaign, a collaboration between Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation, which aims to inspire supporters to learn CPR.
Since launching in last season’s play-offs, Every Minute Matters has already surpassed the initial target of encouraging 270,000 people – three times the capacity of Wembley Stadium – to learn CPR.
Now, the campaign is aiming to go further by encouraging 360,000 people to use the British Heart Foundation’s online RevivR tool and to start learning the lifesaving technique by the time the Play-Off Finals come round.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Trevor Birch, EFL chief executive, said: “The Sky Bet play-offs are a special moment in the football calendar and tens of thousands of supporters will be at Wembley Stadium across the weekend with millions more tuning in from home.
“By kicking off all three play-off finals one minute later, Every Minute Matters continues to harness the power and visibility of football to encourage even more people to learn CPR, which could ultimately help to save even more lives.”
Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “The Every Minute Matters campaign has been truly groundbreaking by encouraging hundreds of thousands of people to start learning vital CPR.
“With millions of eyes on the play-off finals it’s incredible to get the support of the EFL in our bid to encourage more fans to learn this lifesaving skill. It only takes 15 minutes to learn with our free online tool RevivR, and knowing it could make the difference between life and death in the event of witnessing a cardiac arrest.”
Luton Town captain and BHF ambassador Tom Lockyer said: “I was just one of the more than 30,000 people who suffer an out of hospital cardiac arrest every year in the UK.
“I am lucky to be alive today, but the reality is that less than 1 in 10 people usually survive, which is why it’s vital that we continue to raise awareness. The symbolic kick off times are the perfect way to make our lifesaving message impossible to ignore.”
The league one play-off final will kick-off at 1.01pm on Sunday and the League Two play-off final at 3.01pm next Monday.
To access BHF’s free, simple and easy-to-use online tool, RevivR, search ‘BHF RevivR’ or visit revivr.bhf.org.uk/efl