After a collision during a match, an opposition player collapsed and was not breathing. Long Lane JFC Club Welfare Officer Lisa-Marie Crane sprung into action and delivered life-saving CPR to the player and, thankfully, the player has since made a full recovery.

Since then, Lisa successfully applied for the Football Foundation’s Premier League Defibrillator Fund and Long Lane received their new automated external defibrillator which has been proudly mounted on the club house.

We caught up with Lisa-Marie on the incident and how important first aid training and defibrillators are for grassroots clubs. 

How important is it that clubs have these defibrillators onsite in the event of emergency?

"I believe it is of the upmost importance to have a defibrillators onsite in case of such emergencies. Even if you don’t use it, but knowing it is there just in case. Thankfully I didn’t need to use one in the end and CPR worked but if it didn’t then I would have needed to use it."

How was the process of applying and receiving your defibrillator?

"Setting up the defibrillators is easy even if you haven’t had the training as it guides you on what to do each step of the way. Thankfully I didn’t need to use it at the time as the CPR I did work."

How did you feel during and after the event?

"To be honest I had no idea how I did it, I just went into mum mode and got on with it. I was always worried that after completing my training I wouldn’t know what to do and that I would go into panic mode, but I didn’t. The adrenaline kicked in and I just knew what to do and guided others how to help and what needed to be done. When it was over, and I knew he was safe with the paramedics the after affects kicked in and it was horrible and took me a few days to get over. But I am so thankful I was there to help. I am thankful for Karla being there and assisting me and getting the defibrillator ready etc."

What advice would you have for members of the grassroots football community?

"It is so important that everyone involved in a sport is First Aid trained, you never know when this sort of incident is going to happen. I completed my Level 1 Coaching Course in 2019 and have only had to help with simple First Aid since, never did I think I would be saving someone’s life."

What can you do to ensure you are prepared for medical emergencies?

Everyone at London FA would like to say well done to Lisa, it was her quick thinking and taking action which saved a person’s life.

If your club would like to apply for the Football Foundation Premier League Defibrillator Fund, you can do so here.

England Football Learning offers first aid courses on their portal - from Introduction to First Aid to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. You can view them all here.