Ex-Luton Town defender is back playing for Bristol Rovers just over two years after suffering a cardiac arrest in a Premier League game at Bournemouth and is now fronting a CPR campaign
It is not a misprint. Accrington Stanley’s League Two match against Salford City at the Wham Stadium tonight will kick off at 20.01. On Friday night, when Queens Park Rangers are the visitors to The Valley, their game against Charlton Athletic will start at the same time. 20.01.
On Saturday, there are seven fixtures across the English Football League that will begin at 12.31, the rest will get underway at 15.01. On Sunday, the Championship game between Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday will start at 12.01.
The unusual kick-off times are part of the latest push – backed by the EFL – to urge football fans to learn how to administer life-saving CPR. Understandably, the Every Minute Matters campaign – hence the adjusted kick-off times – is unimaginably important to Tom Lockyer.
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Incredibly, just over two years since Lockyer’s heart stopped beating for almost three minutes after he suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Luton Town against Bournemouth in the Premier League, the 31-year-old defender is back on a professional football pitch. He has made 11 appearances for Bristol Rovers since his emotional comeback in October.
“The fact I am playing is amazing,” says Lockyer. “And that is why this means so much to me.
“I am enjoying my time back playing because let’s be realistic, it did not seem likely… to say the least. But with the experiences I have had, I’ve realised there is a lot more to life than football. That is why this campaign is so important. Life is so precious.
“When we started this, we had a goal of getting 270,000 people to learn CPR – three Wembley Stadiums’ worth. We are now over 450,000 people, which is absolutely amazing. We are now trying to reach the half a million target in the month of February.”
The campaign was started and is run by Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and aims to get people to learn CPR via the BHF’s free online tool, RevivR. What could be a lifesaving tutorial takes just 15 minutes to complete.
Lockyer says: “I simply wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the people who acted fast and stepped up to perform CPR. Learning this 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.”
And the campaign has got the full backing of the EFL, whose captains will all make the heart-hand gesture ahead of their delayed kick-offs over the next few days. Sky Bet have pledged to donate £1,000 to the BHF for every EFL goal scored in February and the Every Minute Matters campaign will be promoted by a host of big names during the month.
Graeme Souness, Sam Allardyce, Jermain Defoe and Glenn Hoddle have been long-time backers and they have now been joined by Micah Richards, who said: “Listening to Tom and seeing what he has achieved is inspirational. If football can do this, and create an army of half a million lifesavers, it would be an incredible achievement.”
*To learn CPR search BHF RevivR or visit revivr.bhf.org.uk
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