Bolton legend “Big Sam” Allardyce made a sensational return to the dugout, teaming up with Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign, managing a local team to raise awareness of lifesaving CPR.
The Bolton legend and former England manager took charge of Bolton-based league side ‘Talking Football’ in a special grassroots showdown in Chorley on Saturday, as part of the Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation initiative, which is supported by the EFL and has already encouraged more than 500,000 fans to engage with the BHF’s free-to-use CPR tool RevivR.
Allardyce’s return was sparked by a confidence gap that remains across grassroots football when responding to cardiac arrest situations.
A study of more than 800 grassroots and recreational football clubs, conducted by Leeds Beckett University in partnership with Sky Bet and the BHF, lifts the lid on the experiences of coaches, managers, players and volunteers at the heart of adult grassroots football.
Across the North West, just over half (54%) of respondents felt confident recognising when someone is having a cardiac arrest.
While confidence was slightly higher when it came to performing hands-only CPR (65%), fewer than four in ten (38%) said they would feel confident using a defibrillator, highlighting significant gaps in awareness, confidence and ability when it comes to responding in an emergency.
In November last year, Allardyce joined Sky Bet and the BHF at Bolton Wanderers’ Toughsheet Community Stadium to lead a RevivR CPR training session for local grassroots clubs, helping players, coaches and volunteers build confidence in lifesaving skills.
The former England manager’s last game came almost three years ago when he took charge of Leeds United at the end of the 2022-2023 season. His final match came at West Ham, in front of a crowd of almost 63,000.
On Saturday, Big Sam managed Talking Football, who took on another local community team in a crunch match for local pride.
The team has a focus on men’s mental and physical wellbeing, and brings together over 70 players from all walks of life – from apprentices and police officers to drivers and engineers.
They train at the Bolton Arena opposite the Toughsheet Community Stadium weekly – and normally play in front of up to 10 people.
Bolton legend and campaign ambassador Sam Allardyce said he wasn’t planning on coming out of retirement, but this is one game he couldn’t turn down.
”I’ve spent a lot of my career around football clubs and communities like this know how cardiac arrest has touched the lives of many,” he said.
“We’ve already seen in Bolton how giving people a bit of knowledge and confidence can make a huge difference, but the reality is too many people still wouldn’t know what to do if someone collapsed.
”That’s why I’m teaming up with the Every Minute Matters campaign. It takes just 15 minutes to learn CPR, but it could save someone’s life. Whether that’s a teammate, a friend or a family member.”
Fans can show their support and learn CPR in just 15-minutes by searching BHF RevivR and/or by visiting revivr.bhf.org.uk.