The EFL Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium makes a historic decision on naming.
Wembley Stadium made history this weekend by naming its stands for the first time ever as part of an exciting new campaign. Since the new stadium opened in 2007, it has never had named stands—until now! This change comes just before the EFL play-offs kick off, starting with the Championship final between Hull City and Middlesbrough at 3:30 PM.
Middlesbrough only recently got back into the play-offs after Southampton were removed and docked four points for breaking EFL rules by spying on other teams, including Boro.
The stadium’s four main sections—the North, East, West, and South stands—have been temporarily renamed to honor four football fans who survived cardiac arrests. This is part of Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation’s “Every Minute Matters” campaign, supported by the EFL.
One stand is now called “The Callum Lawson Stand,” named after a Sunderland fan who survived a cardiac arrest at last year’s Championship final. Callum had a heart condition, and thanks to the quick actions of fans and medical staff at Wembley, his life was saved.
The “Pippa Sharman Stand” honors a 34-year-old off-duty police officer who saved Luton fan David Norman in 2022 after a crash outside Reading’s stadium. She gave him CPR after he collapsed.
Norwich fan Andy Wall, who also survived a cardiac arrest while celebrating a goal with his daughter in August 2023, has a stand named after him too.
Finally, the “Ed McCann Stand” is named for a Bradford City supporter who collapsed in 2017 while on a work trip to Blackpool. Burnley fan Jason Clegg, who owned the bar where Ed collapsed, gave him CPR until help arrived. Ed later received a special implant and met his newborn son for the first time while still in the hospital.
These special stand names will be displayed during the Championship, League One, and League Two play-off finals, where more than 200,000 fans will attend over three days. Millions more will watch on Sky Sports, spreading awareness for a campaign that has already helped over half a million fans learn CPR using the British Heart Foundation’s online RevivR tool since 2024.
Former Luton captain Tom Lockyer, who survived a cardiac arrest during the 2023 final and now has an implantable defibrillator, is an ambassador for the campaign. He met the four fans honored at Wembley and said, “Wembley means so much to me, so seeing fans celebrated who have gone through similar experiences is really emotional. After my experience, I know how vital CPR and quick action are. These four people are amazing—they’ve shown incredible courage, whether by surviving or saving someone else.”
Every year, over 40,000 people in the UK suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, but fewer than 1 in 10 survive. Sky Bet aims to raise £6 million to support the British Heart Foundation’s important work. Thanks to the two top scorers in the EFL, Swansea’s Zan Vipotnik and Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard, £1.15 million has already been raised. Both players scored 23 goals and won the first-ever Red Boot trophy, with Sky Bet donating £50,000 for every goal scored.