Why Wrexham vs. Millwall Kick Off Is One Minute Late

The delayed kick-off time intends to save lives.

Wrexham’s upcoming Championship fixture will be ever so slightly delayed. | Zach Forster/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images

An impressive run of form leaves AFC Wrexham in the Championship playoff positions ahead of a potentially crucial league fixture against Millwall at the Racecourse Ground.

The Hollywood-owned Welsh club have embarked on a meteoric rise from non-league, and are now in a position where a Premier League berth no longer feels like a bizarre, distant dream. The Red Dragons are surging up the second tier after an inauspicious start to the 2025–26 campaign.

Millwall, just three points and a single place better off in fifth, are aiming to thwart their momentum on Saturday afternoon, with Wrexham currently occupying the final playoff position in a tight top-half.

With 16 games remaining, plenty is expected to change, but Saturday’s encounter does feel like a tone-setter ahead of the eventual season run-in. Moreover, the upcoming fixture will kick off at an ever so slightly later time than usual. Here’s why.

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Why Wrexham vs. Millwall is Kicking Off One Minute Late This Weekend

It’s not just the bout with Championship playoff implications that has an unusual kick-off time this weekend. All English Football League (EFL) matches played between Thursday, Feb. 5 and Monday, Feb. 9, are kicking off a minute late.

And no, the peculiar scheduling is not as the result of a glitch.

The ’Every Minute Matters’ campaign has worked alongside the EFL since its establishment in 2024, having been set up by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in partnership with Sky Bet. The minute delay to games across the Championship, League One and League Two this weekend intends to highlight the importance of speed when performing life-saving CPR.

Last season’s Championship playoff final also kicked off a minute late. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

The campaign also aims to encourage football supporters to learn the life-saving procedure. According to the British Heart Foundation, a person’s chance of survival decreases by 10% for every minute they go without CPR and defibrillation.

Bristol Rovers defender Tom Lockyer is among the notable ambassadors, having collapsed on the pitch twice within a seven-month span while captain of Luton Town. The second incident saw Lockyer suffer a cardiac arrest during a Premier League fixture at Bournemouth in December 2023 and his heart stopped for almost three minutes.

“This February, we want everyone to get behind this life-saving initiative, learn the skills and be ready to step in, because your actions could give someone else the chance I was given,” Lockyer said of the campaign.

“What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.”

As a result, Wrexham vs. Millwall will kick off at 3:01 p.m. (10:01 a.m. ET, 5:01 a.m. PT) on Saturday, Feb. 7.

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