Damsgaard watched from the sidelines as teammate Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark's game with Finland at Euro 2020
Comments
Sport
Mikkel Damsgaard battles with international teammate Christian Eriksen of Manchester United
(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Mikkel Damsgaard knows better than most the importance of cardiac health. The Brentford and Denmark star watched from the bench as international teammate Christian Eriksen suffered a heart attack during their country’s Euro 2020 clash with Finland.
Former Spurs star Eriksen went on to make a full recovery, but the incident has had a lasting impact on Damsgaard, who is among a trio of Bees players trying to raise awareness about the issue.
Article continues below
The playmaker, along with fellow Dane Mathias Jensen and Yoane Wissa, fronted the club’s ‘Heart of West London’ campaign, where they helped raise £50,000 by auctioning off jerseys through MatchWornShirt.
READ MORE: Premier League injury check after international break as Arsenal and Liverpool suffer setbacksREAD MORE: Premier League clubs in talks over major change to 2025 summer transfer window
Damsgaard said: “The scary thing is it can happen to anybody, even if you have the perfect heart. I experienced it with Christian playing for Denmark. It didn’t seem real at the time.
“But knowing that there might be some people around you who can help bring you back to life, it’s good to raise awareness.
“It’s good to be part of something and the club has given us this opportunity. We can use this money to raise awareness on an important issue for the club.”
Jensen added: “If I can contribute to saving just one life that would be amazing.”
The club has a special connection with the health issue after tragically losing technical director Robert Rowan, who passed away in 2018 aged just 28.
Brentford founded the HoWL campaign in Rowan’s memory, with the mission is to raise awareness and fund research to help save lives from sudden cardiac arrest and other heart-related issues.
The £50,000 raised can go towards life-saving initiatives - whether that’s funding free heart screenings for young people, providing defibrillators for public use or training staff to deliver CPR training within the Brentford community sport trust.
Brentford's Heart of West London campaign aims to raise awareness about cardiac health
Brentford's Heart of West London campaign aims to raise awareness about cardiac health
Tijmen Zonderwijk, co-founder of MatchWornShirt, said: “The passion and willingness demonstrated by Brentford FC has been truly inspiring, and raising £50k for HoWL is a remarkable achievement that shouldn’t be overlooked.
"At MatchWornShirt, we’re committed to making a positive impact through football, and this campaign is a powerful example of how the sport can unite people for such an important cause.”
To get involved and bid on a Brentford shirt and support ‘Heart of West London’, please head to MatchWornShirt’s website or app.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.