Several clubs have already taken advantage of the SAVE campaign – part of New Zealand Football’s wider goal of every club in the country having an Automatic External Defibrilator (AED) on site – but many more are still up for grabs and clubs are encouraged to get their applications in before the initiative ends in November.

New Zealand Football are pleased to confirm that a pair of clubs from the Mainland Football Federation – Western AFC and FC Twenty 11 – have both been successful in their SAVE applications, as have Blue Rovers Junior FC from the WaiBOP Football Federation.

“We are thrilled to get the SmartStart AED’s out into our football communities with the support of our federations and supporting the ability to save lives,” says Megan Crockett, Player Welfare Manager for New Zealand Football.

“We have received many applications from around New Zealand so far and we would stress that clubs must complete the application in full to be in contention. Any club that was unsuccessful in round one will continue to remain in contention for the all subsequent rounds, which are to come each fortnight.”

As part of the SmartStart AEDs in Clubs programme that began in 2016, New Zealand Football have already provided over 120 AEDs to affiliated clubs, as well as assisting them in developing a plan to manage sudden cardiac arrest, along with other significant medical emergencies.

The SAVE campaign was launched in July to provide New Zealand Football-affiliated clubs with another option to obtain a SmartStart AED unit and education programme.

Clubs can apply to receive an AED through SAVE online and those applications will be considered by the SmartStart SAVE committee, who will assess the applications based on the SAVE criteria: S (size of club – number of members or teams), A (area of club – remote, rural, city centre or no other AED nearby), V (venue use – common venue or tournament hosts) and E (engagement – level of engagement with New Zealand Football’s Fit4Football programme and Player Welfare team).

All applications for the SAVE campaign must be endorsed by the New Zealand Football Player Welfare Officer in your federation. Clubs do not need to tick all the boxes but, the more they fit the SAVE criteria, the more likely they will be to have their application approved.

To be awarded a SmartStart AED through the SAVE campaign, the club must be prepared to complete a medical emergency action plan and commit to a SmartStart AED training session, communicate this to their club members and promote the location of the AED unit.

“We are delighted to be able to support our clubs in creating a safer player and club environment by having an AED within the club, which could potentially save a life should there be a suspected sudden cardiac arrest,” Crockett says.

“The presence of these SmartStart AEDs will also be supported by the New Zealand Football player welfare team, who will assist the club in establishing a medical emergency policy and process, plus undergoing a free education workshop on how to use the AED device.”

If your club hasn’t applied already, make sure it does so before November to get saving lives – it could be your team mate’s life you save!

To apply for a SmartStart AED through New Zealand Football’s SAVE campaign please click here

Article added: Friday 20 July 2018