Survival and support
Heroic relay inspires over 20,000 people to learn lifesaving CPR
The Sky Bet ‘Every Minute Matters’ Relay culminated at Wembley Stadium, the home of English football, following 28 days of almost non-stop walking, running and cycling.
The unique event – which covered an incredible 4,000km over 28 days – set out to unite the football community behind the vital mission to save more lives by equipping football fans with confidence and skills to perform lifesaving CPR.
Backed by a host of football’s biggest names – including Glenn Hoddle, ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce and Graeme Souness – the relay struck a chord with football fans across the country spurring an incredible 24,230 to start learning CPR in just four weeks.
Incredible effort
Cardiac arrest survivor and Luton Town Captain Tom Lockyer who has played an integral role in the campaign, said: “It’s been a rollercoaster few weeks and an incredible effort from so many determined former players, fans and employees of EFL clubs. My message to them and all the fans who gave up just 15 minutes of their time to learn CPR is, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
He continued: “They say football is a results business. Well, this is just about the best result I could have ever hoped for. In just four weeks we’ve seen thousands of fans give up their time to learn CPR. I’ve been supporting this campaign every step of the way and what has been achieved over the past year is nothing short of remarkable. It’s a true testament to the power of football.”
Every Minute Matters
The culmination of the relay comes almost a year after Sky Bet teamed up with us to launch ‘Every Minute Matters’ with the goal of encouraging an incredible 270,000 to start learning CPR by the end of the 2024-2025 football season – equivalent to three Wembley stadiums. Sky Bet separately pledged £3 million to fund the vital work of the British Heart Foundation.
And with a month to go to the end of the season, the campaign has encouraged 288,885 people to use our RevivR tool and to start learning the lifesaving skill of CPR.
Having smashed the original target of 270,000, the year-long Every Minute Matters campaign is setting its sights on a revised target of 360,000 people committing to learn CPR by the end of the Sky Bet League Two Play-Off final on Monday 26 May.
Save more lives
Fans can show their support by learning CPR in just 15 minutes with the help of our free, simple and easy to use online tool, RevivR.
Each month more than 2,500 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK and tragically less than one in 10 survive, often because those around them don’t have the confidence to perform CPR. Every minute that passes reduces the chances of survival by up to 10%.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “The Every Minute Matters campaign is truly lifesaving. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been encouraged to learn CPR, and through the efforts of participants and talent taking part in Sky Bet’s EFL Relay, we know many more will be inspired to learn this vital skill.
“We want to thank every participant in joining the BHF’s mission to ensure more lives are saved from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.”