Uefa order probe after research findings

UEFA is to launch a study into the link between football and brain damage after research published this week showed a possible connection between the two.

Scientists from the University College London published their results of a 30-year study into the connection between heading footballs repeatedly and brain damage.

They looked at the brains of six players how were well-known for heading the ball, and who had all subsequently developed dementia.

In four of the brains they found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a type of brain damage caused by repeated blows to the head.

It is thought this could be a cause of dementia.

Researchers said the amount of CTE found in the footballers’ brains was more than the average amount found in brains of the general population.

Previous studies have found evidence of CTE in the brains of contact sports players, such as boxers or American football players who often sustain blows to the head through tackling.

Uefa has now agreed to commission more research into the link between brain damaged caused by heading footballs, and dementia.

The project “aims to help establish the risk posed to young players during matches and training sessions.”

In the US, they have already banned heading the ball for under-16s amid fears it causes head injury and concussion. Below, Jim in action against Dundee United’s Archie Knox during the Scottish Cup Final in 1974