Clubs across the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two are coming together, alongside the EFL, this February to support Every Minute Matters – the life-saving partnership between Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) that encourages fans to learn CPR.
Over the weekend of 5–9 February, all 36 EFL matches have been scheduled to kick-off one minute later than originally planned to highlight a crucial message: when someone suffers a cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by up to 10%.
Sky Bet will also donate £1,000 to the BHF for every goal scored across the EFL during February, helping fund defibrillators in communities and vital research into heart disease.
As part of Heart Month, former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has joined cardiac arrest survivor and professional footballer Tom Lockyer to urge supporters to “Show Your Heart” by learning CPR using the BHF’s free online RevivR tool, which takes just 15 minutes to complete.
They are joined by a host of football figures including Jermain Defoe, Glenn Hoddle, Graeme Souness and Sam Allardyce, who will be sharing the campaign message throughout February.
There are more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year – most happening at home. Learning CPR could help save the life of someone you love.
Fans are encouraged to show their support by posting their heart-hands on social media using #ShowYourHeart and learning CPR at bhf.org.uk/revivr