SKY BET have pledged to donate as much as £450,000 to the British Heart Foundation in February as part of their wider initiative.

The bookmaker revealed last year it aims to donate £3million through different initiatives, with almost half-a-million coming in the next month.

2

It’s part of the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign launched in 2024.

They pledged to donate £3 million for the charity over 2024-2025 whilst also encouraging 270,000 people to learn life-saving CPR.

That’s as many as three full Wembley Stadiums.

So far, as many as 160,000 people have started learning CPR in just 8 months since the ‘Re-starting 11’ were assembled – a star-studded team of current and former footballers and supporters.

Now, Sky Bet are marking Heart Month – a national campaign to help keep hearts beating across the UK – with a couple of excellent initiatives.

February Goal Race sees the firm donating £1,000 to BHF for every goal scored across the 178 fixtures in the Sky Bet EFL during February.

Not just that, they’ve also committed to £100,000 to fund 80 new community defibrillator packages to address the defibrillator inequality across the UK.

That follows BHF research which revealed priority areas and communities where more defibrillators are urgently required, where limited or no existing registered public defibrillators are located.

That includes areas within Nottingham, Bristol, Greater Manchester and Wales.

2

Every Minute Matters campaign ambassador and former Wigan Athletic manager Leam Richardson, said: “When Charlie Wyke collapsed at the Wigan training ground in 2021, I experienced first-hand just how essential quick CPR and defibrillation is, and the training I received helped to save Charlie’s life.

“The Every Minute Matters campaign is transforming attitudes to CPR helping fans across the UK understand that anyone from any background can learn CPR in just 15 minutes.

“This latest phase of funding from Sky Bet is incredible – I just hope players across the EFL have their shooting boots on in February and we can raise as much money as possible for the BHF.

“Importantly, the campaign is about more than awareness and learning CPR – it’s also about ensuing communities have equal access to lifesaving defibrillators.

“Right now, the postcode a person lives in may have an important impact on a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. That’s why I’d urge anyone who is part of a community group or organisation to head to the BHF website and apply for a funded community defibrillator package – it could make all the difference and potentially save a life.”

The British Heart Foundation is marking Heart Month in February by urging the public to help keep hearts beating by learning CPR or raising funds for lifesaving research.

BHF’s Chief Executive, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said: “Sky Bet’s generous support over Heart Month will help the BHF fund its vital work to keep hearts beating.

“We’ll be celebrating every EFL goal scored across February to raise money for our lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases – which affect over 7.6 million people in the UK.

“By funding new public access defibrillators in areas of greatest need, Sky Bet are also joining the BHF’s mission to ensure more lives are saved from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.”

Each year there are 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and sadly less that 1-in-10 people survive at present, highlighting the importance of access to a defibrillator .

Every minute of delay between a cardiac arrest and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent. Quick CPR and defibrillation are therefore vital to give someone the best chance of survival. 

To apply for funded community defibrillator packages, visit: bhf.org.uk/fundeddefibs

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chase their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk