July 19 – England is to become the first country in Europe to trial the banning of young children from heading the ball over fears about the link with neurological disease.
The FA has been granted approval from the International Football Association Board to introduce the trial.
Research published in 2019 by the University of Glasgow found that former professional footballers were 3.5 times more likely to die of dementia than the rest of the population.
The English FA has thus followed the United States in taking steps to remove heading among the youngest age groups.
Should the trial prove successful, the FA’s stated aim is to then “remove deliberate heading from all football matches at U12 level and below from the 2023-24 season”.
Children aged 11 and under are no longer taught to head footballs during training in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while guidelines for coaches also put limits on how much heading older children should do.
Last year new guidelines recommended all professional footballers in England should be limited to 10 “higher force headers” a week in training.
“The FA will continue to explore further ideas, in consultation with stakeholders in the game, to reduce heading in youth football without fundamentally changing the fabric of the game,” the FA added.
Dr Judith Gates, chair and co-founder of Head for Change, a charitable foundation focused on brain health in sport, said the decision was “a constructive step towards making their footballing world safer”.
“This action illustrates the recognition from the FA and IFAB of the need to protect young players and is a tacit acceptance of the dangers of head impacts. More questions will emerge, more answers will be sought, but this important conversation is no longer being avoided. There is no going back from this crucial trial.”
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