Northampton Town fans called on to learn first aid and Celebrate Like a Hero in new film by St John Ambulance
Northampton Town Football Club join commentator Martin Tyler, the Premier League, Football League, and retired Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba whose life was saved with first aid
Supporters of Northampton Town are being urged by St John Ambulance to join others across the country in scoring a first aid goal.
The leading first aid charity is launching its new campaign film, Celebrate Like a Hero, with the backing of Premier League and Football League clubs around the country as well as retired Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba, whose life was saved on the pitch with first aid.
In Celebrate Like a Hero (www.sja.org.uk/football), a life saver celebrates rescuing a woman from choking as though he’s just scored the winner in a cup final, as Premier League commentator Martin Tyler describes the action.
The tongue-in-cheek film asks an important question: in a life or death situation, would you be a hero, or a spectator?
St John Ambulance volunteers provide first aid at every Northampton Town match throughout the season, with a team of first aiders at every home game.
Celebrate Like a Hero will also be broadcast to football spectators at Premier League and Football League matches for the rest of the month with fans urged to download St John Ambulance’s free first aid app.
Sue Killen, CEO at St John Ambulance, said: ‘St John Ambulance volunteers have been keeping fans safe inside the ground for over a century. But this September, we want to make sure fans can be the difference between life and death themselves, inside or outside the turnstiles.
‘Emergencies can happen anywhere - on the pitch, at home or out and about. As Celebrate Like a Hero shows, downloading our free first aid app to your smartphone means you will always have the skills to be a first aid hero, wherever you are.’
Northampton Town Chairman David Cardoza said, "We saw first hand how tragedy can strike any time when we very sadly lost a supporter last season, Mr David Henderson, who had a heart attack on his way home from a game here at Sixfields. We are pleased to support this campaign to help spread what could be life-saving knowledge and hope as many supporters as possible will download the app and support Celebrate like a Hero."
Retired Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba, who went into cardiac arrest during a televised FA Cup match at White Hart Lane in March 2012, is lending his support to the charity’s campaign after the first aid and subsequent medical care saved his life.
‘After my cardiac arrest, I received first aid for over an hour. I was lucky to quickly have attention from people who knew the vital skills of CPR* and how to use an AED**, which gave me a second chance. First aid is a skill anyone can learn - I’m living proof that it can save lives.’
The campaign also has the support of the Premier League, Football League and the Football Supporters Federation.
Clubs including Chelsea, Liverpool and, Aston Villa will feature life saving advice in match day programmes and are encouraging their fans to join the conversation and post their most impressive celebration selfie on social media using the hashtag #celebrationface.
Cathy Long, Head of Supporter Services, Premier League said: ‘Every Premier League weekend over 300,000 supporters come to our grounds and the more knowledge they can have about first aid the better for everyone. It’s great that clubs will be sharing this important life saving message and we hope fans will download the free St John Ambulance first aid app. If we can equip fans with even the most basic of first aid skills, we can help to prevent the many needless deaths that occur in the country each year.’
Football fans can also support St John Ambulance and enjoy tipping Northampton Town with the charity’s new Football Predictor Game, What’s the Score? For a £10 per month donation, fans predict the results of five matches and stand in line to win a weekly £100 prize, and a monthly £250 pot for the highest number of points. At the end of the season there’s a £1000 prize for the most points accumulated. To play, visit: www.guess2give.com/predictor/sja
For more information about Celebrate like a hero visit www.sja.org.uk/football