English Schools' Football Association

The English Schools’ FA is proud to announce that this year’s Chairman’s Charity for the Association is to be the British Heart Foundation.

Alan Johnston, 2016-17 Chairman, chose the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for our support due to the positive impact the use of pacemakers and defibrillators have had on his own family during recent years. Alan said “Whilst the fitting of pacemakers and use of defibrillators are now common procedure, myself and my family feel there is still much to do in really understanding heart disease, not just in the elderly but in generally too”.

The ESFA plan to support the British Heart Foundation this season to help raise awareness, particularly within secondary schools, about heart disease and how it affects people both young and old. We aim to do this in a variety of ways.

If your secondary school or sixth form college doesn’t already have a CPR training kit we will be giving you the opportunity to apply for one. These kits are FREE to eligible schools and are designed to train pupils and teachers alike. This simple to use kit (with a retail value of £1,300) contains mannequins and an easy to follow 30 minute DVD which teaches the life saving skill of CPR. We will send out further information directly, but in the meantime, if you are interested in more information or applying for your kit now you can do so here.

We will also be encouraging schools to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation by encouraging your pupils to do fun activities. The funds you raise, will power life -saving research into inherited heart conditions and coronary heart disease.

Finally we are looking to hear to hear your stories to help deliver the message that heart disease doesn’t just affect the elderly – if you or someone you know has been affected by heart disease and you have a story you would like to share – please don’t hesitate to contact us. If there are any Schools’ Footballers out there, that haven’t been deterred from playing, despite their illness, then both the ESFA and BHF would love to hear your story. Please email Sarah Kearney to share your stories with us.

We are looking forward to being able to share and promote the valuable information and skills provided by the British Heart Foundation with you this season – with your help, the ESFA can not only raise awareness, but potentially help save lives.

We hope you feel as strongly about this cause as we do and will appreciate any support for the British Heart Foundation that you can provide.