WEST LONDON — Assistant Coroner Valerie Charbit urged that football coaches and referees receive mandatory training to identify signs of sudden cardiac arrest during a virtual hearing at West London Coroner's Court. The recommendation followed an inquest into the death of 17-year-old Adam Ankers.

Ankers collapsed while playing for Wycombe Wanderers under-19s on 31 January 2024. A defibrillator was brought onto the pitch, but no one used it because of confusion over whether it was safe to do so. Ankers died in hospital on 4 February 2024 after suffering unsurvivable brain damage.

Charbit ruled that a failure to spot that Ankers was suffering from cardiac arrest contributed to his death by more than minimally. "Although there was training given, and some of those on the pitch were trained, there was still a misidentification of Adam's agonal breathing by those on the pitch and those receiving the 999 call," she said.

Charbit composed a prevention of future deaths report following the inquest. In the report, she said both ordinary people and ambulance call handlers had difficulty recognising the symptoms of cardiac arrest and agonal breathing. She said she hoped the report would prevent similar deaths.

Charbit insisted that training should be compulsory and extend to all members, including grassroots coaches and referees. She said that the difficulty for the Football Association in training 185,000 coaches was outweighed by the number of lives that could be saved.

The FA argued that making training obligatory could exclude children from refereeing. Charbit dismissed the concern about child referees potentially having to deliver life-saving care. "The responsibility for first aid lies with all ages within society," she said.

The FA offers a free online module designed to help recognise a sudden cardiac arrest and respond appropriately, according to its website. The module is not currently mandatory for coaches or referees.