Dementia fears spur move to ban children under 12 heading ball

HEALTH: Scottish Football Association takes lead following research on injuries

Campaigners have welcomed the Scottish Football Association’s move towards a ban on heading in the under12s game.

The SFA is reported to be close to imposing such a ban in training, although the timescale for introducing it is unclear.

The United States has had a similar ban in place since 2015 but the SFA’s move would make Scotland the first European country to impose such a restriction.

It follows the publication of a study by Glasgow University last year which found footballers are three-anda-half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than agematched non-players.

The SFA said it would finalise the proposals “in early course”.

It is understood there is consensus between the SFA board, the professional and non-professional game boards and medical representatives to recommend such a ban.

It could be in place for the grassroots season, which runs from March to November.

Campaigner Dawn Astle welcomed the move. Her father, former West Brom and England striker Jeff Astle, died aged 59 in 2002 from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a type of dementia caused by brain injury.

The coroner ruled his death had been caused by the repeated trauma of heading the ball, describing it as an “industrial disease”.

Ms Astle said: “We’re very pleased, we applaud them for trying to put things in place to reduce the risk and not hanging on and hanging on and keep saying ‘more research, more research’.”

Giffnock Soccer Centre, one of Scotland’s largest youth football clubs, also welcomed the news.

The club announced a policy last October to remove the heading across its smaller-side squads up to and including the seven-a-side teams.

Its chairman Craig Inglis said: “We have a responsibility to our players and would rather give families clear direction on this issue.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard agrees work must continue to establish whether there is a link between playing the game and dementia, but he said he believes heading practice still has a place in grassroots football.

“We applaud them for trying to put things in place to reduce the risk and not hanging on and hanging on and keeping saying ‘more research, more research’. DAWN ASTLE.

Picture: Shutterstock. Scenes like this could fast become a thing of the past amid growing evidence of impact of heading.