Get Trained, Save Lives delivers CPR training to 176,000 in first year

Sudden cardiac arrest is the third leading cause of death in Europe, affecting one in 1,000 people every year. In November 2023, UEFA partnered with the ERC to launch the Get Trained, Save Lives campaign, leveraging the passion of football communities and the influence of football greats to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and teach life-saving CPR skills to fans, players, volunteers and staff.

At the ERC annual congress #RESUS24 in Athens last week, attended by over 1,400 resuscitation specialists, UEFA was proud to present the campaign’s first results: to date, 176,000 people have been trained.

Get Trained, Save Lives also generated four billion impressions, raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of CPR training across Europe. The television advert reached a cumulative viewership of 1.4 billion.

A multi-platform approach

To connect with the diverse football audience across Europe, Get Trained, Save Lives has used a range of different platforms to spread its message and deliver CPR training to participants from 171 different countries.

An interactive online course lead by Ruud Gullit featuring current stars and football legends Erling Haaland, Lautaro Martínez, Manuel Neuer, Ana Marković, Gareth Bale, Thierry Henry, Didier Deschamps and Rio Ferdinand has trained 78,000 people so far.

A further 49,000 people took part in the shorter version of the course, delivered through Instagram chatbots and quizzes.

In-person activations have formed an integral part of the campaign, particularly at UEFA EURO 2024 and club competition finals, where over 40,000 people took part in training across the UEFA fan zones, performing over four million heart compressions.

TV adverts, LED perimeter boarding, giant screen videos and match programme adverts were also used to raise awareness among fans at EURO 2024, while players from almost all participating teams received CPR training ahead of the tournament.

A total of 9,100 people working within elite football took part in a physical CPR course led by ERC-certified instructors; attendees included national associations, clubs, players, staff, volunteers and participants at events such as the UEFA Nations League and UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Inspired by this success, the campaign will continue this season in cooperation with European professional clubs.