Former footballer Fabrice Muamba says that revolutionary new CPR training videos being shared by Snapchat could save countless lives, especially among young people.
The 34-year-old ex-midfielder, who played for the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Arsenal, says these virtual CPR lessons could help educate entire generations thanks to the app’s massive reach.
Speaking to the BBC, he said that since young people are often out with friends, “if they don’t know how to do CPR, then they’re in serious trouble” – hence why campaigns like this are so “very important”.
How does it work?
The new Snapchat feature which can be found in the Lenses section of the app teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) via the camera filter, which overlays instructional graphics.
Created with the help of the global Red Cross charity, the CPR function will guide users on how to perform chest compressions and present them with a quiz to see how well they have learned the basics of the potentially life-saving emergency procedure.
Credit: Snapchat
The hope is that the joint initiative will teach CPR millions, with the app boasting more than 347 million daily active users at present, as well as expand into wider first aid measures in the future.
Moreover, while the core demographic of teenagers and young people under 25 make up nearly half of their entire user base, there are still plenty of adults who use the app across the UK alone.
A cause close to his heart
The Congolese-born footballer came through Arsenal’s youth academy and played as a senior professional for more than seven years before his career was cut tragically short in one of the scariest moments in live football history.
Just age 23 at the time, Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of the pitch while playing for Bolton in an FA Cup match against Spurs back in 2012.
Fabrice Muamba playing for Bolton in 2011Fit and healthy three years after he collapsedCredit: Wikimedia Commons
After his heart stopped, medics spent over six minutes trying to resuscitate him on the pitch before he was rushed to the hospital by emergency responders.
In a terrifying series of events, he was declared “effectively dead” for a full 78 minutes and it took 15 defibrillator shocks to restart his heart.
Growing concern for player welfare
Since his incident over a decade ago, there have been a number of high-profile incidents of cardiac arrest on playing pitches, including former Manchester United players Daley Blind and Christian Eriksen, who collapsed mid-game and now both are fitted with a defib implant.
The latest to be forced into retirement was Brighton player Enock Mwepu, who just days ago was diagnosed with a heart condition after falling ill on holiday. As a result, people are calling for deeper investigations into players’ well-being.
As Muamba says, “if this happened to me in my house, I don’t think we’d have this conversation today” and these players were at least fortunate to have first-class medical aid on hand.
The cardiac campaigner and charity worker says Snapchat’s CPR tool “is self-explanatory and easy to use” and reiterated “it’s all about being proactive… rather than being scared of not doing anything.
“You learn how to do it and then once you find yourself in that predicament, you’re able to remember what you learned – it’s about taking action and actually being able to do it in the first place.
First off, if someone is unconscious or not breathing normally, you should call 999 immediately before you start attempting chest compressions. From there, this is how you perform CPR:
Kneel down and place the heel of your hand on the breastbone at the centre of the person’s chest
Place the palm of your other hand on top and interlock your fingers
Position yourself so your shoulders are directly above your hands
Using your body weight, press straight down by 5-6cm (2-2.5 inches) on their chest
Keeping your hands on their chest, release the compression and allow their chest to return to its original position
Repeat these compressions 100-120 times a minute until an ambulance arrives.
As always, a good trick for doing chest compressions is to do them to the rhythm of ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees (yes, like in The US Office episode).
If you learn now, you could save a life one day. You can also watch an instructional video on how to properly perform CRP down below:
Featured Image — Wikimedia Commons
Sport
Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP
Danny Jones
Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.
The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.
The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.
AngryGinge returned to streaming after being detained by police for 15 hours
The streamer and several friends were arrested for climbing into a display F1 car at the British Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/WDSYb6MVtj
“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.
“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.
“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”
Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).
All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.
Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.
He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.
He’s literally a brands dream isn’t he 😂 so quick and smart with it
Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)
Sport
Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is coming out of retirement after more than a decade
Danny Jones
Mancunian and British boxing legend Ricky Hatton MBE is coming out of retirement after more than a decade for his first competitive fight in 13 long years.
This is sure to be one to watch.
The Stockport-born and Hattersley-raised fighter first retired back in 2011, but did flirt with a comeback a year later in what turned out to be a one-off fight and defeat to 35-year-old Ukrainian welterweight, Vyacheslav Senchenko.
‘Hitman’ Hatton also got back in the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, enduring eight two-minute rounds after a decade away from fighting, but now he’ll be undertaking an official fight over in the United Arab Emirates.
Lacing up his gloves at 46 years old, Hatton will be facing fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah (same age), who was the first professional boxer in the UAE.
The ‘Pride of Hyde’ may have been out of the competitive sporting sphere for a while, but he’s still remained an active figure in the boxing world.
In addition to training his son, Campbell, who has followed in his father’s fighting footsteps, Hatton has continued to coach other young boxing talents from his gym in Tameside, including John Hedges and Chloe Watson.
Campbell, 24, has won 14 of his 16 fights, losing just twice since he began in 2021.
Meanwhile, his dad – who still boasts a record of 45 victories from 48 matches, 32 of which were by knockout – will be once again focusing on getting himself back in fighting shape for the Dubai bout.
The local athlete has done plenty to dispel the old jabs of ‘Ricky Fatton’ in recent times, mind you, having taken his talents as a once-promising young footballer to play in the Manchester Remembers charity match, as well as the aforementioned Barrera exhibition.
Set for this winter, Ricky Hatton will face fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah in a middleweight contest on Friday, 2 December, telling national media via video call in the recent press conference that confirmed he would be coming out of retirement: “What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out, and it will be watched around the world.”
Will those Haymakers still hit like they used to? Well shall see before the end of the year.
Danny Jones -
14th October 2022 
