Why are EFL games kicking off one minute late this weekend?

News
By published

Games across the Championship, League One and League Two will start one minute later than usual this weekend

EFL
All EFL games will kick off one minute late this weekend (Image credit: PA Images)

Eagle-eyed EFL fans taking an early look at this weekend's games will have spotted something unusual about the fixture list.

All 36 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two are scheduled to start one minute late.

This is why all EFL games will kick off one minute late this weekend

Salford City were beaten 8-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup 3rd round earlier this season

Salford City's clash with Accrington Stanley is the first EFL fixture of the weekend (Image credit: Getty Images)

The one-minute difference may seem like a minor detail, but it is highlighting a major issue.

It is to raise awareness for the Every Minute Matters campaign, a partnership between EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to illustrate the importance of speed when performing life-saving CPR.

Tom Lockyer in action for Luton Town against Aston Villa in Ocober 2023.

Former Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch in 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

According to the BHF, when someone suffers a cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and defibrillation decreases their chance of survival by 10 per cent.

The issue was brought into sharp focus for English football fans in 2023, when Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch twice in seven months.

The first incident occurred during his side's Championship play-off final victory against Coventry City, when the defender suffered an atrial flutter - an irregular heartbeat - early in the game, causing him to collapse. He received medical attention on the pitch and was then taken to hospital.

Lockyer recovered to captain Luton in the Premier League, but suffered a cardiac arrest which caused his heart to stop for almost three minutes during a game against Bournemouth that December.

"What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador alongside playing for League Two side Bristol Rovers.

A Luton Town fans holds up a Tom Lockyer shirt during the Hatters' 1-0 win over Newcastle in December 2023, a week after the team captain suffered a cardiac arrest in the Premier League game against Bournemouth.

Luton fans rallied around Lockyer after his cardiac arrest (Image credit: Getty Images)

"Every year, more than 40,000 people in the UK suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and most of them never make it home.

"I'm here today because of the transformative power of CPR as every minute matters when it comes to saving a life."

EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch added: “Our 72 Clubs sit at the heart of their communities, and they show time and again how football can drive real-world change.

“The one-minute kick-off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death."

James Roberts
Freelance writer

James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for FourFourTwo. He has spent the past three years as a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers and started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.