Cardiac arrest survivor and former Luton captain Tom Lockyer urges football fans to join the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign this month

Footballer Tom Lockyer, who survived a cardiac arrest in December 2023, is urging fans to ‘Show Your Heart’ by learning CPR this ‘Heart Month’ in a bid to create an army of half-a-million lifesavers. 

Every Minute Matters – a partnership between Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation (BHF), supported by the EFL – aims to engage 500,000 fans to learn CPR by the end of February.

Prominent figures in the game – including Micah Richards, Jermain Defoe, Glenn Hoddle, Sam Allardyce and Dion Dublin – have joined force to support the campaign, which launched in May 2024, by flooding social media with images of themselves making a heart sign. 

The aim is to encourage supporters everywhere to ‘Show Your Heart’ and learn CPR using the BHF’s free online RevivR tool.

The campaign has engaged 450,000 fans to learn CPR to date – which far exceeds the initial target of 270,000

The start of every game in the EFL this weekend will be pushed back by one minute in a stark reminder that with each minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, the chance of survival for a person who has suffered a cardiac arrest reduces by up to 10 per cent.

Sky Bet will also donate £1,000 to the BHF for every goal scored across the EFL in February – meaning a potential £350,000 payout for the charity in one month based on league scoring trends. 

Lockyer, who collapsed on the pitch while playing for Luton against Bournemouth and has now resumed his career with Bristol Rovers in League Two, said: ‘It is a brilliant campaign. Our original target by this point was 270,000, so to be at 450,000 is fantastic.

‘We just need another 50,000 this “Heart Month” and we’re going to achieve that by getting those who have learnt CPR to show their heart on social media and encourage others to learn it too.

‘I am so proud of Sky Bet, the British Heart Foundation and the EFL for the work they have done in ensuring this campaign is a huge success.’

He added: ‘This campaign really is building an army of lifesavers, with every single EFL club united in action to raise awareness of cardiac arrest.

‘I simply wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the people who acted fast and stepped up to perform CPR. Learning this lifesaving skill is one of the simplest but most powerful ways you can show your heart – because when someone collapses, what you do next can save their life.

‘Why not learn CPR? With 80 per cent of cardiac arrests occurring in the home, it’s likely going to be a loved one or someone you really care about – so imagine not knowing what to do in that situation. Please don’t be someone who regrets not doing it.’

Wrexham fan Maurice Jones has also helped to raise awareness this month. Jones collapsed during Wrexham’s League One clash at Wycombe Wanderers on March 15 last year. 

‘I arrived at the ground, found my seat, and that was that. My daughter, who lives in New York, messaged me asking, “Where are you, Dad?” I took a picture to show her – and that’s the last thing I remember,’ he said.

‘The next thing I knew, it was Wednesday. I woke up in intensive care in a hospital in Slough. I’d been put into an induced coma and intubated. I’m told the game itself was stopped for around forty minutes while everything was going on.

‘Some people have since joked that I should get some credit for Wrexham’s promotion – as the manager had time to reassemble his troops during the stoppage.’

To learn more about CPR and to join the campaign visit https://revivr.bhf.org.uk/efl.