Quick-Thinking Coach Saves Father’s Life During Youth Soccer Match in Belgium

A big scare in Londerzeel. While participating in a football match on Monday evening, a family man suffered a malaise in the sixth minute of play and collapsed. Ali Bourfa, coach of the U14s of Londerzeel SK was able to save Geert Van Praet. "Eight dads participated (in the match). [...] We had just started for six minutes when Geert suddenly collapsed. We accompanied him to the locker room and he seemed to be sitting down for a moment, but he collapsed again. [...] He was unconscious and I couldn’t feel his pulse," Ali recounts.

Assisted by other fathers, Ali tried to resuscitate Geert Van Praet. "His tongue was folded back and when I tried to clear his airways, he bit in an unconscious reaction. I placed his head and body in the right position and started resuscitating him," added the coach. He called 112 and put his phone on speaker. "That way, I could follow the correct resuscitation rhythm that the emergency services dictated by phone. I started with manual resuscitation. It was very intense. The automated external defibrillator (AED) was brought in. I placed the sensors and administered five to six shocks," he continued.

Shortly after, the emergency medical unit (MUG) arrives. It takes over. Geert was stabilized and transported to the hospital. The AED proved to be very essential. "I want to emphasize the importance of such an AED device. It really saves lives. I also took a resuscitation course. [...] I still have to seriously recover from it. Even the next day, everything that happened still seems very intense to me," Ali added. The resuscitation lasted a total of 33 minutes.

Geert Van Praet’s family expressed their gratitude to the U14 coach of Londerzeel SK. "I can’t thank Ali enough, on behalf of our whole family," said his wife Inge De Ridder (46), who lives with her husband, their daughter Febe (17) and their son Rune (14), who has been playing at SK Londerzeel, in Londerzeel-Saint-Joseph, for three seasons. "He saved Geert’s life. We are eternally grateful to all the dads and everyone who helped," she added. The board of directors of Londerzeel SK also expressed its gratitude to Ali. "We are really very grateful to Ali, he is an example and is always there," said Wim Eeckelaers, a member of the board. He will add: "He is vital for our club. Now, even literally. Thanks to Ali’s resuscitation, the preparation of many people in the club, and the AED, Geert’s life was saved."