Reading FC supporter has Wembley stand named after her!
Pippa Sharman's name will be on a stand at Wembley this weekend to recognise her lifesaving skills
Wembley Stadium’s stands are to be temporarily named in honour of four football fans with extraordinary stories of survival and courage as one of football’s most exciting competitions, the Sky Bet EFL Play-Offs, marks 40 years of drama, tension and unforgettable football moments.
Aiming to inspire football fans to learn the lifesaving skill of CPR, the four temporary stand names will be seen by around 200,000 fans attending the 40th Sky Bet EFL Play-Offs between 23 and 25 May, as well as millions more watching live on TV.
One of Wembley’s four stands will be named in honour of Reading supporter and off-duty police officer Pippa Sharman, from Chalgrove in Oxfordshire, who helped save the life of Luton fan David Norman while attending Reading’s away fixture against Luton Town in 2022. Pippa witnessed a car collision outside the stadium and immediately realised the driver was seriously unwell. Discovering David was not breathing, she removed him from the vehicle and began CPR with the help of another member of the public until emergency services arrived.
Each year in the UK, more than 40,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with less than one in ten surviving. In a powerful and emotional reminder of the fans, friends and families behind the statistics, giant signage stretching across Wembley Stadium will display the names of four supporters, three of whom would not be here today without those who acted quickly using CPR.
The stand naming is part of Sky Bet and the BHF’s groundbreaking Every Minute Matters initiative, supported by the EFL, which also saw the kick-off at last year’s Play-Off Finals rescheduled to one minute past the hour to highlight how every minute really does matter when it comes to saving a life.
To date, Every Minute Matters has encouraged over half a million fans to start learning CPR through the BHF’s free RevivR tool.
Emotional
Pippa said: “To have a stand at Wembley named after me is something I never could have imagined and feels incredibly emotional. What happened outside Luton that day was instinct. Somebody needed help and I just did what I hoped anyone else would do in that moment. Knowing that our story is now being used to encourage more people to learn CPR is hugely important to me because it shows that ordinary people really can save lives. Football brings communities together like nothing else and if the Every Minute Matters campaign inspires even one more person to step forward confidently in an emergency, then it will have made a real difference.”
Pippa and David have gone on to become lifelong friends and catch up with each other regularly.
Moving
Sam Kennard, community resuscitation manager, at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said: “It’s incredibly moving to see these four supporters honoured at Wembley during the 40th Sky Bet EFL Play-Off Final. They are a powerful reminder of exactly why every minute matters. A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time and the difference between life and death is often whether someone nearby has the knowledge and confidence to step in and start CPR.
“We hope their stories will inspire even more people across the country to learn this lifesaving skill. It takes just 15 minutes, the length of half-time, to learn CPR with RevivR. That’s why we’re urging everyone to get involved today and learn CPR, so more lives can be saved when it matters most.”
Learn
Fans can show their support and learn CPR in just 15-minutes: Search BHF RevivR and / or visit revivr.bhf.org.uk