Africana55 Radio 
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Savy King’s remarkable journey from a life-threatening cardiac arrest on the pitch to her imminent return to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) for Angel City is nothing short of extraordinary.
The 20-year-old defender is preparing to rejoin her team this season, a mere 10 months after her heart stopped during a match.
The terrifying incident unfolded during the second half of Angel City's home fixture against the Utah Royals last May 9.
In the 74th minute, King sat on the field, appearing disoriented, before losing consciousness. Her heart had ceased to beat. Trainers immediately rushed to her side, administering CPR as fans and fellow players watched on in distress.
After approximately 11 minutes of on-field treatment, she was rushed to hospital, where she underwent surgery to correct an anomalous left coronary artery, a rare congenital defect that had previously gone undetected.
Reflecting on the ordeal, King expressed profound gratitude. "I for sure have gone through ups and downs, but for the most part, I just am grateful that I’m able to play again," she stated.
"I feel like that comes from my perspective of life just completely changing. I feel like sometimes when you do something over and over again, you get comfortable and not necessarily complacent, but you take things for granted of being able to just go out there and do what you love every day. And for a second I thought that that was taken from me."
The incident also sparked controversy within the league. The NWSL Players Association was among those who argued that Angel City's match should have been suspended following King’s collapse. Instead, the game continued, including some 12 minutes of stoppage time.
The league later conceded that the match should indeed have been halted. A subsequent collapse involving Racing Louisville's Savannah DeMelo later in the season, which led to the postponement of that match, prompted NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman to confirm that new procedures were implemented to better handle such emergencies.
King spent the summer recovering at home, watching her teammates from afar and painstakingly relearning basic movements.
Her rehabilitation involved six weeks of physical therapy, followed by a rigorous cardiac rehabilitation programme.
For three months, she exercised three days a week under close medical supervision. By September, she was able to participate in limited team training.
During her recovery, King began to formulate a new mission. Through her leadership, all 16 NWSL teams have now received training in hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) this year.
The NWSL stands as the only professional sports league in the United States to implement CPR training on such a comprehensive scale.
Her foundation, Savy King of Hearts, aims to spread the message that "you can be a hero with just two hands," partnering with the American Heart Association, which highlights that hands-only CPR can significantly increase survival chances.
Commissioner Berman lauded King’s initiative, saying: "All credit goes to Savy. She's remarkable. She sent me a note shortly after she had gone through the main parts of her recovery and came to us with this idea. And it was clearly a no-brainer for us to support it.
“What an amazing opportunity for her to turn something that was really scary for her, for her teammates, for the league, and turn it into a positive."
King’s foundation is also working to provide AEDs to underserved communities and organises soccer camps that include CPR training for children and their parents.
A Southern California native, King’s athletic prowess runs in the family; her mother, Karrie King, was a professional biathlete.
Savy herself excelled in track in high school before playing a season at North Carolina. She was the second-overall pick in the 2024 NWSL draft by expansion side Bay FC, playing 18 matches before being traded to Angel City in February 2025.
She had started all eight games for Angel City prior to her collapse. King has also represented the U.S. on several youth national teams and was invited to senior team coach Emma Hayes' Futures Camp in January 2025.
On Valentine's Day, King was officially removed from Angel City's season-ending injury list and has since featured in two of the Los Angeles-based team's preseason matches.
Angel City are set to open their regular season on Sunday at home against the Chicago Stars. King confirmed that she faces no restrictions and requires no special monitoring or tests, expressing no fear about continuing her playing career.
"You don’t always have to let what happens to you define you and how you decide to go about your life in the future," she asserted. "Because I can very easily just stop playing and be like, 'Yeah, this is scary. I’m going to stop.'
“But I have so much that I want to accomplish in my life, and I didn’t want that to be the reason that I just stopped altogether, especially if there’s a chance that I could keep going and continue to inspire young girls that go through the same thing."