Lawford United Football Club have taken inspiration from Brentford after seeing our first-team players wearing shirts with the Resuscitation Council UK’s (RCUK) heart-shaped CPQR code at the game against Chelsea in October 2022.
The CPQR code is a heart shaped QR code that directs people to a short video on how to conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in just two minutes.
The emergency procedure can vastly improve the chances of survival for a person experiencing cardiac arrest.
Lawford United, a football club based in Rugby, and OurJay foundation, set up in memory of Jamie Rees who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in the local area at the age of 18, have campaigned for accessible defibrillators and raise continuous awareness of CPR.
Naomi Rees-Issitt, mother of Jamie and founder of OurJay Foundation, said: “OurJay foundation is so proud to have worked with The Resuscitation Council UK and Lawford Utd Football club, in placing the CPQR code on their football kits.
"We feel that every football club, from grassroots to the Premier League, should be displaying this QR code to raise awareness of the importance of CPR in the event of a cardiac arrest.
"Our Jamie was fortunate in having a friend with him, who could perform excellent CPR while waiting a long time for an ambulance, but sadly a defibrillator was not reachable and accessible in time to save Jamie’s life.”
The CPQR code is prominent on the football shirts of their Under-8 and Under-10 teams as well as their development team, Little Lightings.
Lawford United is the first grassroots football team in Warwickshire to have the codes on their shirts.
Councillor Simon Ward, chair of Lawford United, added: “We first saw that Brentford had the QR code printed on their shirts in the Premier League game against Chelsea, a game in which Naomi’s nephew was a mascot at.
"As a club, we saw this, and knowing the importance, we thought why not have it on our kits too?”
We welcomed Lawford United and OurJay foundation to the Gtech Community Stadium earlier this month for our match against Southampton to raise awareness of the work they are doing for cardiac health and to showcase the CPQR code on their kit.
The CPQR codes shirts were first worn by Brentford players as part of our Heart of West London partnership which has seen the club work with several charities and organisations to use the power of sport and collective voice to change the game for cardiac health.
Brentford’s campaign honours Robert Rowan, the club's former technical director who tragically died at the age of 28 in November 2018 after suffering a fatal cardiomyopathy episode.
You can add the CPQR code to your shirt in-store and online now.
If you would like to order for a local football team, please contact us at [email protected]