Luton Town's Tom Lockyer takes on 4,000km CPR awareness challenge
Along with other football legends, Luton's captain will be spending the next 25 days raising awareness of CPR
Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer, former England manager Glenn Hoddle, and Scottish football legend Graeme Souness have joined forces with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to urge football fans across the UK to learn CPR.
The initiative is part of the Every Minute Matters campaign, which aims to train 270,000 people in CPR by May 2025.
The campaign has launched a gruelling 4,000-kilometre charity relay, which will see fans, football legends, and celebrities stop at all 72 English Football League (EFL) clubs.
The relay, which began on 25th March and will conclude at Wembley Stadium on 21st April, is the latest push in an effort to raise awareness of cardiac arrests and the importance of CPR.
Tom Lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a Premier League game in December 2023, stressed the urgency of the initiative: "When you have a cardiac arrest, without CPR and defibrillation, you will die. It’s as simple as that.
"I was technically dead for two minutes 41 seconds, which in the scheme of cardiac arrests is absolutely nothing. That’s purely because I had trained paramedics with me within seconds."
Lockyer is now advocating for CPR education, encouraging fans to use the BHF’s RevivR tool.
Hoddle, who survived a cardiac arrest in 2018, also reinforced the message, recalling how CPR and defibrillation saved his life: "When I had my cardiac arrest, the man who saved my life broke seven of my ribs. But I’m here today to carry on enjoying my life."
The relay has already helped train 235,000 people, closing in on its goal of 270,000. Sky Bet, the campaign’s sponsor, has committed £3 million to the BHF, funding defibrillators and CPR education initiatives.
With over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurring in the UK each year and fewer than one in ten victims surviving, the campaign is urging football fans to take action.
Lockyer reinforced the importance of the initiative and addressed common fears around CPR.
He said: "A lot of people think that they’re going to do more damage than good. But the reality is that person is dead, and nothing you can do will make it worse."
He also called for CPR to be introduced in schools, adding that "if you’re at home as a parent and have a cardiac arrest, who’s there to save you? It’s going to be your kids."
Fans can access free CPR training through the BHF’s RevivR tool.