Children in Scotland to be banned from heading footballs due to dementia fears

The Scottish Football Association is set to ban children under the age of 12 from heading footballs in a matter of weeks because of links between football and dementia.

A similar ban has been in place in the United States since 2015.

The decision follows the release of a report by the University of Glasgow last October, which discovered former professional footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of a degenerative brain disease.

’This decision from the Scottish FA is important’

Researchers have carried out a landmark study looking into the lifelong health outcomes for former professional footballers. They compared the cause of death of 7,676 Scottish former male professional footballers with 23,000 individuals from the general population.

Club chairman Craig Inglis told BBC Scotland: "As a community club we're parents first and coaches second. In light of the available medical evidence we felt a responsibility to safeguard the future health of our youngest players.

"Although some of the ongoing scientific studies are yet to report, there is a growing consensus among the medical community that heading the football contributes towards players developing dementia and other brain conditions later in life.

"We have a responsibility to our players and would rather give families clear direction on this issue. Our football development work focuses on building skills with the feet 'on the deck' and this is what we will be focusing on."

’I’m glad the SFA are leading the rest of football and doing something about it’

Dementia UK chief executive Hilda Hayo, commented on the move, saying: "There have been concerns for some time about the higher risk of dementia for some occupations and some forms of head injury.

"Our specialist dementia nurses have worked with people with dementia who have played football professionally and whose family are concerned about the possible link of dementia from brain trauma due to prolonged heading of the football, especially the old-style leather ones.

“Whilst there are a number of risk factors for dementia, this decision from the Scottish FA is important as it shows an increased awareness of the damage that can be caused to the brain from prolonged heading of a football especially in a young child or adult.”

Former Arsenal and Celtic striker John Hartson told the BBC: “Heading was a massive part of my game. Managers bought me because I could head the ball.

“There have been some serious situations where players have lost their lives and ex-legends suffering from dementia, so I’m glad the SFA are leading the rest of football and doing something about it.”

The brain injury charity, Headway, wants to see more research carried out into the issue, with its chief executive, Peter McCabe, saying: “In light of the recent study undertaken by the University of Glasgow, which suggested that professional football players have a higher risk of neurodegenerative diseases than the general public, there does seem to be merits in considering such a move.

"It is understandable that coaches and parents are looking for clarification on this issue. It is therefore vital that more research is conducted to fully understand what risks, if any, are linked to heading lightweight modern footballs."

He added: "There are questions about the age limit and speculation suggests this will be 12 years. This infers that a child of 13 years is safe to head the ball. How do we know this to be the case?"

For anyone who has any questions around dementia, please click here or ring the helpline on 0800 888 6678.”

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