A local football club has set up a fundraising page to raise money for a defibrillator to be fitted at their ground.
Mardy Football Club are looking to install the device at their clubhouse on Mardy Park, and hope that funds raised can go towards training members of the club in how to use the device along with the costs of fitting the defibrillator. The issue of player safety has come to the attention of the sporting world in the last month following the events at Euro 2020, where Denmark’s Christian Erikson suffered a cardiac arrest during a European Championships match. Thankfully due to the heroic efforts of medics and Erikson’s team-mates on the scene, the player’s life was saved and the player is now recovering. The incident did however highlight the importance of having proper medical equipment available at grass-roots sports clubs, and Mardy AFC club chairman Chris Price hopes that the local community will rally round to support this cause. Chris said: "The recent events involving Christian Erikson just goes to show how you cannot underestimate player’s physical health and well-being at any level of football. In cases like Erikson’s every second without the correct medical treatment decreases the chance of survival, and a defibrillator massively enhances a person’s chances of survival. "At the highest-level professional medics are on hand at all times, unfortunately grass-roots football does not have that luxury so we hope through fundraising we can raise £1,000 which will not only go towards buying and fitting the defibrillator at the club, but also towards training club players and staff in how to use the device correctly and safely. "Special mention must go to the club’s Social Media co-ordinator Clive Harry who is doing a great job in raising awareness of our fundraising." Mardy Football Club runs two senior teams playing in Gwent Central Divisions 1 and 2 respectively with more than 50 players signed on to play for the club, and returned to competitive action on Saturday August 7 with a 6-3 win at New Inn. Chairman Chris lives locally and still plays for the club, and sits on a club committee of nine people that also includes Fundraising officer James Woods and Club Treasurer Matthew Wham. The club are determined to maintain their roots in the local community and in recent times have contributed towards organisations by donating to the Salvation Army’s Christmas donation and Abergavenny food bank. Speaking about the club’s plans, Chris (pictured above) said: "We’re very proud of our contribution as a club to helping local charities and organisations, and I’d like us to achieve an even greater sense of community so we have a few more initiatives planned to hopefully achieve this goal." For more information on the club’s fundraising efforts and to donate money please visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mardyafc