Former England manager Sam Allardyce is making a return to the dugout, but this time for a Sunday League team as part of a life-saving CPR campaign. The 70-year-old has teamed up with Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation's Every Minute Matters initiative to offer his services to one lucky amateur side for a day.
Allardyce, who has managed over 1,000 games for clubs including Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland and Everton, will oversee selection, tactics and deliver team talks for the winning team. The competition aims to raise awareness of CPR in grassroots football, inspired by Fabrice Muamba's cardiac arrest in 2012, from which he recovered thanks to immediate CPR and defibrillation.
“I can still vividly remember what happened to Fabrice. Thanks to immediate CPR and defibrillation, Fabrice made a full recovery. But most grassroots football teams don’t have a medical team on site, which is why it’s critical anyone who plays amateur football knows how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator,” Allardyce said.
The Every Minute Matters campaign, launched in May 2024, has already inspired over 350,000 people to start learning CPR. Allardyce is urging grassroots players to use the BHF's free online tool RevivR, which takes just 15 minutes to learn these lifesaving skills.
To enter, teams must send their name, contact details, team name and league via the competition form. The winner will be drawn on December 1, 2025, and Allardyce will take charge of a game between January 1 and April 30, 2026. Entries are open to adult over-18s men's or women's 11-a-side teams, as well as walking football teams.
