Tom Lockyer and Wrexham fan back EFL one-minute delays to promote CPR | OneFootball

Every EFL match this weekend will start one minute late as the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign urges supporters to learn CPR, with Tom Lockyer and Wrexham fan Maurice Jones highlighting how swift action can save lives.

“The play-off final was different because he was very quickly awake,” said Luton manager Rob Edwards. “Talking, and he was emotional at the time, probably a little bit confused. But clearly, this time, it was a cardiac arrest. He wasn’t responding.” He was speaking to The Athletic the following February.

Lockyer collapsed while playing for Luton at Bournemouth in December 2023, his heart stopping for two minutes before medics and paramedics Dean Fernee and Abbey Clarke saved him, with Issa Kabore kneeling in prayer. Seven months earlier he had gone down at Wembley, was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, underwent an operation, returned to captain Luton on the Premier League’s opening day and scored in a 2-1 win at Everton.

Jones’s ordeal came 77 minutes into Wycombe Wanderers against Wrexham when a suspected heart attack in the crowd halted play. Stewards created privacy, an ambulance took him to hospital and the match resumed after 50 minutes, Wrexham winning 1-0 via a Sam Smith volley. The 72-year-old only learned the result four days later.

Across the Championship, League One and League Two, all 36 kick-offs will be delayed by one minute. Captains in the 11 televised games will make a heart-hands gesture, while figures including Micah Richards, Jermain Defoe and Fabrice Muamba are supporting online. SkyBet will donate £1,000 to the British Heart Foundation for every goal in February. Lockyer, now at Bristol Rovers with a small defibrillator implanted, signed in October and has made 14 appearances.

Source: NY Times