November 13: A Labor MP calls for legal limits on repetitive heading in football training amid growing concern about brain injuries.
Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, tabled an early motion on Tuesday describing players’ brain health as a “major public health and player welfare issue”. Research has found that former footballers are three and a half times more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases than the general population.
“The goal of this EDM is to raise awareness of the growing body of evidence linking repeated head impacts, particularly from running a football, to an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases,” Morris said.
The motion supports a petition by the charity Head Safe Football and calls for legal limits on heading in training, an intergovernmental working group, recognition of CTE as a public health concern, a national action plan and better education in schools. EDMs rarely lead to debate, but indicate political pressure.
Some rules already exist. The FA has phased out deliberate headers in grassroots games for under-11s and recommends no more than 10 headers a week in fan training. Professional clubs in England are advised to limit players to 10 “power” headers a week. Scotland bans taking part in professional training the day before and after matches.
Activists say the guidance isn’t enough. “What we’re finding is that coaches and parents don’t know about the guidance or the ban. Or they don’t know why it exists,” said Dr Judith Gates, founder of Head Safe Football, whose husband, former Middlesbrough player Bill Gates, died of CTE.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also called on English football to formally acknowledge its dementia crisis and set up a compensation scheme for “industrial injuries”. “Their determination to take this issue seriously has been extraordinary, and they should never have had to fight so hard to be heard,” he said of the affected families.
Inquests into the deaths of Nobby Stiles and Gordon McQueen found that gambling contributed to their deaths. The PFA and Premier League brain health fund has contributed around £1m a year from 2023, which campaigners say is well below the costs of care. The FA has not contributed, saying it invests in research and guidance.
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