FORMER Mossley footballer Astley Mulholland is the driving force behind the campaign defibrillators4grassroots, which was born out of a personal tragedy.
Mulholland, who now plays for Trafford FC in Northern Premier League, West Division, set it up in 2016 in memory of his brother Kyle who died aged 19 of a cardiac arrest in 2005 playing five-a-side football in Liverpool.
But Mulholland, 34, explained the campaign was revived last summer after Christian Eriksen had a cardiac arrest playing for Denmark in the delayed finals of Euro 2020.
And in pre-season, players from local non-league teams wore defibrillators4grassroots t-shirts while warming up.
Mulholland has spoken to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the North West Ambulance Service who are also to come on board.
He said: “The t-shirts were a little something to highlight the campaign, but soon there will be a big launch.
“It is great to have Andy Burnham and the North West Ambulance Service on board.
“The idea is to have a defibrillator every 500 metres. And if Trafford FC doesn’t have one, the campaign will promote where to find one nearby.”
Mulholland added he has received a lot of positive feedback to his campaign.
He added: “I launched it in 2016 but it is hard because people lose interest over time.
“It was only when we had the incident involving Christian Eriksen in the summer that it came back into the spotlight and I gave the campaign another push.”