Sky Bet to mark Heart Month 2025 with up to half a million pound in donations to support the British Heart Foundation's vital work

Sky Bet is marking Heart Month – a national campaign to help keep hearts beating across the UK – with a new half a million pound donation to support the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) vital work. 

As much as £450,000 could be going to the charity over the course of a month as Sky Bet pledges £1,000 for every single goal scored across all 178 fixtures in the EFL during February.  

The pledge is part of the Every Minute Matters campaign – which aims to raise £3 million for the charity over 2024-25 and encourage 270,000 people to learn life-saving CPR.

It’s been a resounding success since its launch in May 2024, with the campaign inspiring over 160,000 people to start learning CPR in just eight months.

That’s in large part courtesy of the ‘Re-starting 11’ initiative – a star-studded team of current and former professional footballers and fans including Tom Lockyer, Graeme Souness, David Ginola, Glenn Hoddle, Fabrice Muamba, Derby County defender Megan Tinsley and Wigan Athletic striker Charlie Wyke. 

Over the last 8 months, this unique team has been sharing their own personal stories and experiences of overcoming heart issues and surviving cardiac arrests to help motivate the public to get behind the campaign. 

In addition to the Heart Month ‘February Goal Race’, Sky Bet has also committed over £100,000 to fund 80 new community defibrillator packages as part of a drive to tackle defibrillator inequality in communities across the UK. 

The initiative – part of the longstanding BHF Defibrillator Fund – is designed to address the stark inequality in access to defibrillators in the UK. It follows research from the BHF that reveals the priority areas – including areas within Nottingham, Bristol, Greater Manchester and Wales – where more community defibrillators are urgently needed. 

Every Minute Matters ambassador and former Wigan Athletic and Rotheram United manager Leam Richardson spoke to the importance of the campaign. 

‘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,’ he said.

‘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 ensuring 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.’ 

Sky Bet have committed £100,000 to fund 80 new community defibrillator packages

British Heart Foundation Chief Executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths also thanked Sky Bet for their commitment to the cause.

‘Sky Bet’s generous support over Heart Month will help the BHF fund its vital work to keep hearts beating,’ she said.

‘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.’

To address defibrillator inequality, the BHF and Sky Bet are calling on community groups and organisations across the UK to apply for a funded community defibrillators package ahead of the application closing date on February 28.

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