BAN KIDS HEADING
Clough: Football must change with U16s ... we cannot mess with children’s health
NIGEL CLOUGH has waded into the war on dementia in football – calling for kids under the age of 16 to be banned from heading a ball.
The ex-england, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest striker (right) says more research needs to be done at junior levels before the practice is given the green light.
Studies have shown that former players are three-and-a-half times more likely to die of degenerative brain diseases than the average man on the street.
That led to the FA drawing up a code of practice last February with youngsters under the age of 12 now banned from heading the ball during training.
Clough’s late father,
Brian, famously quipped that ‘if God wanted to play football in the air, he’d have put grass up there’, and his son believes the current code needs to go further.
The Mansfield boss said: “Three years ago, I was at a question and answer session at Repton School in Derbyshire when I was asked what rule I’d change.
Research
“We’d just been relegated from the Championship at Burton – so I said I’d abandon that one – but then I added that heading a ball by Under-16s should be outlawed.
“There were a few murmurs among the audience about the fact that it is part of the game – which I understand.
“But my point is that if you do the research until kids are 16 years old, then you can discuss the situation. Until then, ban it.
“Honestly? I wouldn’t mess about with kids’ health.
“If my son was 12 or 13 and I didn’t know if heading the ball would damage his health or not, I wouldn’t want him heading it. Surely that’s just common sense.
“We have altered our own sessions to take account of that. It is limited here.
“You still have to head it and we have conceded horrible goals this season from set-pieces – I’m sure every manager would say that – but why not be on the safe side? We are now seeing some magnificent players from the past who are being diagnosed and who are suffering because of how they went on. We have to learn.”
Clough had first-hand experience of how an innocent aerial challenge can have serious consequences.
He added: “A few weeks ago, we did a crossing exercise and James Perch – a seasoned professional – went up for a challenge with one of our young lads.
“It was innocuous.
The young lad pulled out and caught him on the side of the head with his arm.
“James went for a scan. Initially, it showed a broken jaw. He then went for a second opinion and the medics told him that the fracture was above the jawline and it was considered a brain injury.
“He’s going to be out for a season. It was similar to the Raul Jimenez episode at Wolves.
“I don’t want to lose heading from the game. It’s such a huge part of it. And the fans want to see it. They want balls coming into the box.
“When a team wins a corner, there’s a cheer because there’s a raised expectation of a goal.
If God wanted us to play football in the sky, he d have put grass up there!
Legend Brian Clough, Nigel’s late father