PITCHSIDE EMERGENCY CARE

Cardiac arrest drill · step by step in 3D

Sudden cardiac arrest team drill

Sudden cardiac arrest — the team drill. Six steps, each tagged with the colours that act. Watch each step in 3D, or play them all.

LOADING THE 3D TEAM

STEP 1 · RECOGNISE

Recognise. Non-contact collapse = sudden cardiac arrest. Enter at once — do not wait for the ball to go out of play.

Swipe here for the next step.

Practise the compression rhythmTap-along trainer: 100–120 a minute, 30:2 or continuous

Recognise · At once

REDBLACK
  • Non-contact collapse = sudden cardiac arrest. Enter at once — do not wait for the ball to go out of play.
  • Unresponsive to voice or touch. Gasping, slow breathing or slow seizure-like movements are cardiac arrest, not a fit.
  • Red checks for signs of life: breathing and carotid pulse together, no more than 10 seconds.
  • Black ensures the ambulance is called.

Chest compressions · No delay

RED
  • Red starts compressions in the middle of the chest: 5–6 cm deep, 100–120 per minute, full recoil.
  • 30 compressions to 2 breaths until the i-gel is in.
  • Airway and breathing are not the first priority in adult cardiac arrest: compressions and the AED come first.

AED and shock · The moment it arrives

GREENREDBLUE
  • Green applies the AED as soon as it arrives — do not wait for the current 30-count. Red keeps compressing while the pads go on.
  • Analysis: hands off. Shock advised: Green checks that everyone is clear and that oxygen is removed (it can stay on a closed loop such as an i-gel), then shocks.
  • After the shock: no pulse check. Restart compressions at once.
  • Rhythm check every 2 minutes; swap the person compressing.

Airway and oxygen · Once CPR + AED are running

ORANGEBLUE
  • Orange inserts the i-gel (FIFA's adjunct of choice in cardiac arrest) and attaches the bag valve.
  • Blue connects oxygen at 15 L/min to the bag reservoir.
  • With the i-gel in: continuous compressions, one breath every 10th compression (about 10 per minute). If it leaks: 30:2.
  • No i-gel: OPA or NPA with a face mask is a two-person technique at 30:2.

Prepare the transfer · Planned before kick-off

BLACKORANGEWHITEBLUE
  • FIFA's protocol: after the third shock and medications, the team leader considers extricating the player.
  • Best: the ambulance comes onto the field to the player. Agree this before the match.
  • Otherwise: log roll on Orange's count — Red chest, Blue pelvis, White legs — onto a long spinal board (a scoop can also be used).
  • Strap the player, the board and the AED together as one unit.
  • A mechanical chest-compression device, where available and the team is trained on it, is fitted before the move so compressions are barely interrupted.

Stop-and-start carry · ≤ 10 s each

BLACKGREEN
  • On Black's command, lift and carry for no more than 10 seconds — Green counts out loud.
  • Then put the player down and give at least 2 minutes of compressions before the next carry.
  • Repeat until the player is inside the ambulance. Continue CPR en route.
  • Destination: a hospital with 24/7 coronary angiography, agreed before the match.
  • ALS if trained: adrenaline 1 mg IV after the 3rd shock (as soon as possible if non-shockable), then every 3–5 min; amiodarone 300 mg after the 3rd shock, 150 mg after the 5th.

EXTRICATION TEAM

The current FIFA PEAP shows six roles: Black, Orange, Red, Green, Blue and White. Earlier versions also marked a separate extrication team in yellow, usually four first aiders provided by the stadium. Some venues and teaching centres still use one. If yours does, include them in the pre-match plan: they wait beside the scoop and basket, facing the player, and join only when the team leader calls them — to help with a log roll or to carry.

SEQUENCE

Recognise → compressions → AED and shock → airway and oxygen → prepare the transfer → stop-and-start carry.

FIFA GUIDELINE FILMS

Watch official SCA, CPR and AED films