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. 2025 Jan 6;11(1):e002274.
doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002274. eCollection 2025.

Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland)

Florian Egger  1 , Ana Ukaj  2 , Tim Meyer  2
Affiliations

Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland)

Florian Egger et al. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. .

Abstract

Objective: While emergency care for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is strictly regulated in professional football, the situation in amateur football is unclear. This study investigated the emergency readiness for SCA in German amateur football clubs.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 253 German amateur football clubs (fifth division and lower) was conducted between January and August 2023. Club representatives participated in a 30-point questionnaire on automated external defibrillator (AED) availability, visibility, purchase, usage, frequency of staff trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED usage, regular CPR and AED training, and the existence of an emergency action plan (EAP).

Results: 161 of 253 eligible clubs (64% response rate) participated. An AED was available in 48/161 (30%) clubs. 46 of 161 clubs (29%) had no CPR-trained staff. A high availability of CPR- and AED-trained staff (>75% likelihood of being present at the pitch) was more likely during a match (61% and 84%) than training (40% and 51%), respectively. Retrospectively, over 7 years, five clubs reported that CPR-trained staff used an AED, resulting in a survival rate of 80%. 16 clubs (10%) had an EAP in the event of an SCA.

Conclusion: German amateur football clubs show low emergency readiness for SCA despite a promising survival rate when an AED is used by CPR-trained staff on-site. Regular CPR and AED training for club members, increased availability of AEDs, and the development of EAPs might be beneficial in responding adequately to an SCA during football training and matches.

Keywords: Automatic external defibrillator; Death; Football; Resuscitation; Soccer.

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Conflict of interest statement

FE is association doctor of the Saarland Football Association. TM is chairman of the Medical Committee of the German FA. All authors declare that they have no competing interests regarding the aims of the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Distribution of the clubs (n=161) across the different amateur leagues.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Localisation of the automated external defibrillators in 48 amateur football clubs.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Distribution of different groups of AED-trained staff (A) and CPR-trained staff (B). Estimated likelihood of being present at the pitch of AED-trained staff (C) and CPR-trained staff (D) during training and match. AED, automated external defibrillator; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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