Northern Ireland football fans have installed life-saving defibrillators in several locations around Windsor Park stadium in Belfast.
The four defibrillator kits have been placed on Sandy Row, Great Northern Street and at the Adelaide rail halt.
Funds were raised by the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs to buy the defibrillators following the death of a supporter who suffered a heart attack while attending a Northern Ireland home game in November 2021.
The money collected by the supporters’ clubs was matched by the Irish Football Association (IFA) for the purchase of the defibrillators.
There are around 1,400 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Northern Ireland each year and less than one in 10 survive these.
Every minute without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.
Performing CPR can more than double chances of survival. Access to a defibrillator and CPR has been shown to dramatically improve chances of survival in cases of cardiac arrest.
Gary McAllister from the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs said: “We wanted to help keep fans safe and play our part in saving lives in the event of an emergency.
"The supporters’ clubs raised funds through a prize draw and the IFA match funded what we raised and that allowed us to buy four defibrillators which will be installed in areas where fans gather on match days.
“We were very happy to work with the British Heart Foundation in Northern Ireland to help save lives though these defibrillators.”
Welcoming the initiative, Head of BHF NI Fearghal McKinney said: “We’re delighted the supporters’ clubs have teamed up with BHF NI, with match funding from the IFA, to install these potentially life-saving defibrillators in the area around Windsor Park.
"There’s always an electric atmosphere on match days and these defibrillators at the stadium will undoubtedly help save lives.
“Having access to defibrillators in public places and in our communities has already saved lives and the network of public access defibrillators is growing all the time."
