Teaching Footballers To Save Lives Not Just Shots: ‘Life-Saving’ Skills Taught To Young Athletes
Why not add an extra special skill to your roster – that of saving lives?
Well, that was exactly the idea the Malta Resuscitation Council (MRC) had in mind as they united their instructors to teach GOAL sessions – GO and save A Life.
This project, brought about by the European Resuscitation Council and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), serves to promote the awareness and importance of early recognition of patients in cardiac arrest, how to commence CPR and use an Automatic External Defibrillator to ensure the best possible chances of survival.
GOAL consisted of short sessions in which basic CPR was taught to the players, coaches, and other supporting members of the eight participating teams – over 200 people in total.
All UEFA staff are being trained and these GOAL sessions have been conducted at various UEFA events all over Europe.
The MRC’s Chair, Dr Tanya Esposito, together with the Secretary, Dr Nicole Zerafa, put together a team of dedicated volunteers and organised various preparatory workshops to ensure standardisation of all sessions taking place.
Dr Daniel McKean, Medical Co-ordinator at the Malta Football Association (MFA) and MRC Council member, was responsible for all the logistics over GOAL’s two-day span.
The MFA’s commitment to the delivery of the sessions was a crucial element in their success.
To see the young footballers focused on both their football careers as well as acquiring knowledge and skills is something special – and after overcoming language barriers and time constraints, these dedicated athletes became equipped with the skills needed to be life-savers on the pitch.
The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive, with the attendees now feeling better prepared to face similar situations in future.
Would you take part in such an initiative?
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