England ‘to become the first nation to LIMIT the amount of heading in professional training’ in an ongoing effort to combat dementia risks for players
England is set to become the first country to curb the amount of heading involved in professional training in a bid to tackle football’s dementia crisis.
Charlotte Cowie, the Football Association’s head of medicine, told The Telegraph that the incoming restrictions will be primarily aimed at coaches who run extensive heading drills.
Cowie said that heading is ‘among ‘the most likely risk factors’ for the risk of dementia among former professionals.
Measures to limit the amount of heading in training could be soon introduced in England
Sportsmail has been calling for heading to be restricted in training sessions – one of seven demands to help the game tackle the dementia crisis.
A joint committee, led by the Premier League, including the FA, the PFA, the Women’s Super League and the English Football League is now working to draw up the new protocols.
‘We’ve got a fairly quick timescale but we do want to gather evidence first before we put some heading guidelines in place,’ Cowie added. ‘What it will make sure is where there are coaches that are complete outliers, and we know that they exist, which just make players head again and again and again for 45 minutes or longer, that those actions are brought in and called out. Because that is where clearly those training practices are inappropriate.’
On Monday, Sportsmail reported that there are several players who played as recently as the 1990s who have since been diagnosed with dementia.
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has been contacted by relatives of ex-players born in the late 1950s who have been told they have the condition, providing further evidence debunking the argument that the old leather ball is behind the link between the sport and an increased risk of neuro-degenerative diseases.