sir KENNY ON...

HEAD INJURIES

The findings of the research project by Glasgow University’s Brain Injury Group were interesting, and have opened a wide debate within football. That is great.

After 22 months’ research, the experts have found that former professional footballers are three-and-a-half times more likely to suffer from dementia and other serious neurological diseases than people of the same age range.

This will now lead to a task force being set up to examine it all even deeper.

That has to be a good thing. The bottom line is that football needs to be educated on such matters.

Listen, we may never have a definitive answer to the link between heading a ball and problems later in life.

But we do have to take note of what we are being told, and the guidance that is recommended.

I think small improvements have been made.

For example, when I think back 50 years, we could hardly lift a match ball when it was raining, let alone kick it as far as normal.

Now the balls are designed to avoid that problem.

Of course, football owes it to the families involved to keep working on this because their loved ones have suffered.

I can only hope that they can get a certain amount of satisfaction and comfort, knowing that pushing for a study and for answers can possibly help avoid others from getting dementia.

They have campaigned long and hard for answers, and they have a led an admirable fight.

It’s great testimony to them that they have never given up.

But there remains a long way to go, and much work is still to be done.

We must all make sure their voices and concerns continue to be heard.