February 25 – Primary school children have been banned from heading in football training in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The Football Associations of each country, in announcing the guidelines, said a “graduated approach” will be taken for older children between 11 and 16.
The new rules for kids aged 11 and under follows a much-publicised study of ex-professional players in Scotland, which found they were 3.5 times more likely to die from degenerative neurocognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s than members of the public of the same age.
While there is no firm evidence to prove that heading is to blame, the guidelines are being introduced to mitigate against any potential risks.,
“This updated heading guidance is an evolution of our current guidelines and will help coaches and teachers to reduce and remove repetitive and unnecessary heading from youth football,” said the English FA’s chief executive Mark Bullingham.
“Our research has shown that heading is rare in youth football matches, so this guidance is a responsible development to our grassroots coaching without impacting the enjoyment that children of all ages take from playing the game.”
Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell, added: “While it is important to re-emphasise there is no research to suggest that heading in younger age groups was a contributory factor in the findings … nevertheless Scottish football has a duty of care to young people, their parents and those responsible for their well-being throughout youth football.”
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