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Editor‘Red boot’ race heats up as top EFL goalscorers close in on season finale
This season Sky Bet and the BHF kicked off the second year of their lifesaving Every Minute Matters campaign with the launch of the ‘Red Boot’ – a new award unveiled by footballing heroes Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora for the best striker across all three divisions of the EFL.
Leading the standings is Leyton Orient’s Dominic Ballard at 22 goals, with Swindon Town’s Aaron Drinan and Swansea City’s Zan Vipotnik hot on his heels with 21 goals each.
If the season ended today, Ballard’s tally would generate a whopping £1,100,000 for the British Heart Foundation, funding vital CPR training, the installation of defibrillators into communities across the UK, and helping power CureHeart, the charity’s pioneering research programme developing treatments and seeking cures for inherited heart muscle diseases.
As part of the Every Minute Matters campaign, Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation set out to create an army of lifesavers by the end of this season’s final whistle. The transformative campaign has smashed its target and successfully inspiring over 500,000 to start to learn the lifesaving skill of CPR through RevivR – the BHF’s free, online CPR training tool.
While the EFL’s legendary Golden Boot accolade is given to each of the top scorers in the Championship, League One, and League Two, its bright red counterpart will go to the footballer who achieves the highest ultimate tally.
The ‘Red Boot’ last season would have gone to League Two Bromley’s Michael Cheek – who netted 25 goals for the Ravens – which would have equated to £1.25 million in critical funding for the BHF.
With just a handful of games remaining, the Red Boot trophy remains firmly up for grabs.
A lifesaving title race
There are more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, and tragically, fewer than one in ten people survive. ‘Early CPR and defibrillation can more than double someone’s chance of survival.
Since its launch at Wembley in May 2024, Every Minute Matters has gone on to deliver an impact far greater than a stadium-sized crowd. Originally set out to teach 270,000 people how to perform CPR using the BHF’s free CPR training tool, RevivR, the campaign smashed that target in its first season eventually inspiring over 300,000 fans to start learning CPR by May 2025.
Building on that momentum, year two raised the bar with an r ambition to reach 500,000 people and the introduction of the Red Boot — turning goals on the pitch into lifesaving impact off it.
Lizzie Moscardini, RevivR programme manager, at the British Heart Foundation said:
“When it comes to cardiac arrest, every minute really does matter – and this season’s Red Boot race shows the powerful role football can play in helping to save lives.
“Thanks to Sky Bet and the EFL, every goal scored is helping fund initiatives that can make a real difference.
“More than 40,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK each year, yet fewer than one in ten people survive. The Every Minute Matters campaign is helping change that by encouraging more people to learn these lifesaving skills. With the season heading into its final weeks, anyone can get involved by learning CPR in just 15 minutes using RevivR”.
A Game-Changing Campaign
In Heart Month in February, dozens of famous faces including Frank Lampard, Micah Richards, Graeme Souness, Glenn Hoddle, Dion Dublin, Troy Deeney, Elis James, Sir Tony Robinson threw their weight behind the campaign and joined cardiac arrest survivor and Bristol Rovers player Tom Lockyer, asking fans to SHOW YOUR HEART and learn CPR.
Fans also witnessed a month of action in February across the Sky Bet EFL, with all 72 clubs united behind the Every Minute Matters campaign.
Across the weekend of 5-9 February, football paused to make a point, with all 36 weekend games in the Sky Bet EFL Championship, League One and League Two re-scheduled by one minute in a stark reminder that when it comes to cardiac arrests, every minute really does matter. Each minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.
Across February Sky Bet also donated £1,000 to the BHF for every goal scored across the EFL in February – with a huge £514,000 raised for the charity, with 164 goals scored in the Championship, 198 in League One and 152 in League Two.
Fans can show their support and learn CPR in just 15-minutes: Search BHF RevivR and / or visit revivr.bhf.org.uk
#EFL #EFLChampionship #EveryMinuteMatters #RedBoot #SkyBet #SwanseaCity #ZanVipotnik
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