Thrapston Town FC

An initiative to raise awareness of young sudden cardiac death and to provide a cardiac screening programme for young sports men and women in Thrapston has received the support of a new fund backed by former England cricketer Darren Gough.

Thrapston Town Juniors FC approached the fund for help to pay for its cardiac screening programme that started after the death of one of its young players from an undetected cardiac abnormality in 2017,

Club Treasurer Mark Lovell said: “After one of our players tragically collapsed and died on the football pitch our club has been committed to raising awareness and trying to ensure all our players aged 14-plus have access to cardiac screening through the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). Back in 2017, the Club were unaware of the risk that we were potentially exposing some of its young players to by playing football.

“There’s a bit of an irony, sport generally promotes longevity of life and reduces the risk of death from a cardiac problem but increases the risk of sudden death in an individual who already has a cardiac condition. But unfortunately, many young people who play sport, and their parents, will be totally unaware they harbour a condition that’s capable of causing sudden cardiac death. As the screening is not available through the NHS, it’s now one of the club’s key priorities to be aware of the risks young players may be exposed to through playing football and in turn mitigate the risks through a screening programme.

“The financial support provided by Gigaclear’s Rural Sports Club Fund has enable the Club, post pandemic, to restart its screening programme and, so far this season, we have screened 26 players through sessions held by the parents and Friends of Prince William School in Oundle. We are now setting up our own screening sessions on August 29 at Thrapston Primary School to raise awareness and screen a further 100 young people from Thrapston and surrounding villages.”