Survival and support
Sky Bet EFL Championship Play-Off Final stages unprecedented live CPR demo
Former footballer turned Hollywood star Vinnie Jones joined an unprecedented CPR demo in front of a packed Wembley crowd as we marked the culmination of our Every Minute Matters campaign with Sky Bet.
During half-time of the Sky Bet EFL Championship Play-Off Final, Vinnie watched as Luton Town captain and cardiac arrest survivor Tom Lockyer, and our senior programme manager Lizzie Moscardini, showed thousands of fans how to give lifesaving chest compressions.
Powerful moment
The CPR demo saw a live feed beamed onto Wembley’s giant screens, in a powerful moment aimed at raising awareness and encouraging people to head online and learn CPR our free online tool, RevivR.
Vinnie Jones said: “I’ve done a bit in my time – but this might be one of the most important things I’ve been part of. This is about saving lives and giving people a fighting chance. If someone has suffered a cardiac arrest, you’ve got to know what to do.
“Football brings people together, and this campaign has proved the power of football to do a lot of good. We saw nearly 90,000 fans at Wembley – if even a handful walk away knowing CPR, that could be the difference between life and death. Simple as that.”
Dramatic finale
With all eyes focused on the dramatic finale, the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final on Saturday 24 May also kicked off at the symbolic time of 15:01 – a minute later than normal – to highlight that every minute really does matter when it comes to saving lives.
There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, equating to at least five every 90 minutes. And tragically, less than one in ten people survive them in this country, often because those around them lack the skills or confidence to perform CPR.
A year ago, we joined forces with Sky Bet, setting a goal to encourage 270,000 people – equivalent to the capacity of three Wembley stadiums – to learn CPR in just 12 months. The pioneering partnership has smashed that ambition, inspiring over 300,000 people to start learning CPR using RevivR.
Massive achievement
The campaign has been backed by Tom Lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest during Luton’s Premier League match against Bournemouth in December 2023. Despite the enormity of what he faced, Tom has overcome adversity and turned his experience into a powerful force for good playing a pivotal role as an ambassador for the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign.
Tom Lockyer said: “This campaign has brought fans, players and clubs together like never before – and the result is nothing short of incredible. In just a year, we’ve helped more than 300,000 people to start learning CPR. That’s a massive achievement, and one I’m incredibly proud of.
“I’m one of the lucky ones, but the stark reality is that most people who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest won’t be so lucky. Every extra person we inspire to learn CPR could one day go on to save a life.”Generous support
We are also set for a significant fundraising boost as Sky Bet pledged to donate £10,000 for every goal scored during this season’s Sky Bet EFL Play-Offs. This builds on Sky Bet’s year-long fundraising efforts which has seen the brand commit to donate £3million to support our vital lifesaving work.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “Vinnie and Tom have always been fantastic supporters of the BHF’s mission to save more lives and we want to thank them for stepping up at Wembley to encourage more people to learn vital CPR.
“In the event of a cardiac arrest, every minute matters and knowing CPR can drastically improve the chances of survival. That’s why we urgently need more people to learn this lifesaving skill, which takes just 15 minutes using our online tool, RevivR.
“The generous support of Sky Bet in our Every Minute Matters campaign has been truly lifesaving, encouraging hundreds of thousands to learn CPR and raising vital funds for research into heart and circulatory conditions.”