City supporters heading to Home Park can relax, the kick-off tweak is for a good cause.
City’s trip to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, 7 February will now begin at 3.01 pm, with the Imps joining clubs across the EFL in backing a life-saving awareness campaign.
The fixture is one of 36 EFL matches taking place between 5 and 9 February that will start one minute later than scheduled. The symbolic change is part of Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign, delivered in partnership with the English Football League.
The message is simple and powerful. When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR dramatically reduces their chance of survival. By adjusting kick-off times, clubs are helping highlight how crucial fast action can be in saving a life.
Since the campaign launched in May 2024, more than 400,000 people have already started learning CPR through the initiative, with the EFL and Sky Bet using football’s reach to push that figure even higher. February is Heart Month, and the target is to reach half a million people learning CPR by the end of the month.
Fans are being encouraged to take just 15 minutes to learn the basics of CPR using the BHF’s free online tool, BHF RevivR, which can be accessed by searching ‘BHF RevivR’.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said the campaign underlines football’s wider role beyond the pitch.
“Our 72 clubs sit at the heart of their communities, and they show time and again how football can drive real world change,” he said. “The one minute kick off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death.”
Former Wales international and BHF ambassador Tom Lockyer also lent his support, having experienced cardiac arrest himself.
“What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time,” he said. “I’m here today because of the transformative power of CPR, because every minute matters when it comes to saving a life.”
BHF chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths added that football’s ability to unite communities makes it the perfect platform for the message.
“These unique kick off times are a powerful reminder that every minute matters in a cardiac arrest,” she said. “Learning CPR could be the difference between life and death.”
So while City supporters may need to reset their watches by 60 seconds at Home Park, the reason behind it is one that truly matters.