Winton Football Club has received a brand new Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), which will not only help to save players' lives in the event of an emergency, but also support the wider community of Winton as well.

The club was presented with the AED last month by New Zealand Football as part of their SAVE programme which aims to provide every football club across the country with a life saving AED.

So far the programme has distributed 120 AEDs to football clubs since it began in 2016, as well as assisting clubs in developing a plan to manage sudden cardiac arrest, along with other significant medical emergencies.

Winton Football Club president Bronwyn Campell said having the AED allowed vital life support to those at the club as well as locals in Winton.

"It is brilliant for NZ Football to acknowledge the challenges of playing sport in remote rural locations and to be helped out by providing an AED free to us to use at club events."

She said that emergency services were often sent to the wrong place due to errors with GPS technology.

"When the ambulance was last called out to an injury, Google Maps took them to end of Dejoux Road where there is no road access instead of via Price Road where the car park is." 

Clubs can apply to New Zealand Football for an AED and must meet the SAVE criteria which focuses on the size of the club, the area of the club in comparison to the nearest AED, the use of the venue if it is a common venue or just for tournaments, and the level of engagement the club has with other New Zealand Football programmes.

Mrs Campbell said the club had received Quality Club Mark (QCM) accreditation between 2015 and 2017 which she believed helped with its application.

Plans for new clubrooms, in conjunction with other local sporting organisations, were underway she said which would allow for the AED to be stored and available anytime.

"Unfortunately it cannot be available 24/7 as there is no secure location to keep it until a new clubroom facility can be built," she said.