THE link between repeated trauma by heading the football and brain disease is becoming prevalent as science and knowledge improves.
Unfortunately, many former professional footballers have passed away from forms of brain disease which have been contributed to by heading footballs thousands of times in training.
Former Southampton defender Gordon McQueen sadly died in 2023 aged 70 due to a combination of vascular dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
A recent inquest into his death found that the repetitive head impacts suffered throughout his career contributed to his CTE.
McQueen’s daughter Hayley McQueen said that her dad believed that heading the football contributed to his dementia diagnoses.
She said, speaking to BBC Sport, “I remember coming home from school and Dad would be in bed, or having a lie down.
“He would say he’s been having headaches. I remember thinking – ‘why are you having headaches?’.
“He would say ‘yes, heading a football all those years probably hasn’t helped’.”
Hayley added that she had previously told the inquest that her dad never suffered any major head trauma following his retirement from professional football.
Protocols have been put in place for children under the age of 11 by the FA to restrict the amount of contact the ball has with their heads.
Deliberate heading has been prohibited for these age groups in training and a header in a match will result in an indirect free-kick for the opponent.
Solent First team footballer and Sports therapy student Jake Niziolek provided further insight on the issue on the Sports Fix Podcast.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zFI7aApnVtdObtKNgdoY8?si=KrwxjcONR7SyKC0BMhKvLw
