Explained: Why all 36 EFL matches kick off one minute late this weekend with Wrexham among teams affected
All 36 EFL fixtures over the coming four days will kick off a minute later to raise awareness for an important cause.
The EFL have changed the kick-off times for all 36 matches taking place in the Championship, League One and League Two this weekend.
Fixtures involving the likes of Wrexham, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City and Doncaster Rovers among others are all scheduled to start a minute later than they typically would in the normal schedule.
This process starts on Thursday 5 February when Accrington Stanley host Salford City in an important clash at the top of the League Two table and continues into Saturday - impact games such as Wrexham vs Millwall, Birmingham City vs Leicester City and Rotherham United vs Cardiff City which all kick-off at 3.01pm.
The quirk to the schedule continues until Monday 9 February when Championship promotion hopefuls Sheffield United and Middlesbrough collide in a match which could see Kalvin Phillips make his first appearance in the Championship for more than five years.
Why are all the EFL games kicking off one minute later this weekend?
This small alteration to the football calendar has been introduced as part of the Every Minute Matters campaign, which is in place to demonstrate the importance of speed when performing life-saving CPR.
It’s backed by a partnership between Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation to improve the likelihood of someone surviving if they suffer a cardiac arrest. According to the BHF, when someone suffers a cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and defibrillation decreases their chance of survival by 10 per cent.
The issue came into focus in 2023, when Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer collapsed 11 minutes into the club’s Championship play-off final with Coventry City. The defender resumed playing the following season but collapsed again in December during a draw against Bournemouth before being treated by medical staff.
"What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador while remaining in football as a defender for fourth-tier outfit Bristol Rovers.
What impact has Every Minute Matters had?
Over 400,000 people have stepped up to learn CPR since the beginning of the campaign, over four times the capacity of Wembley Stadium, with last season’s Championship play-off final between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday also kicking off 60 seconds later for the cause. Football supporters are invited to learn by using the British Heart Foundation’s online RevivR tool to learn CPR, which takes just 15 minutes.
EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch added: “Our 72 Clubs sit at the heart of their communities, and they show time and again how football can drive real-world change. The one minute kick-off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death.
"Since the launch of the Every Minute Matters campaign in May 2024, over 400,000 supporters have already begun learning CPR - now we’re calling on supporters everywhere to join them this February and help us pass the half million mark.”
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