Legal restrictions on heading in football training to protect players’ brains

Background

Create clear, legal restrictions to limit repetitive heading in football training to protect children, young people & all players from repeated head impacts. Some data suggests more than 5m children & 10m adults in England play football. We're concerned that they're in danger.

Additional details

Repetitive heading can cause brain disease including CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) which affects memory, mental health & behaviour. It’s been found in teenage brains & has developed into adult dementia. We believe that’s why we need to introduce and clarify legal limits on repetitive heading in training & protect all players. The FA acknowledges the need for protection, phasing out heading for U11s, but limits in training at later ages remain only guidance. We want consistent legal limits so every player, no matter how young/old, is protected. We hold that prevention is the only cure. Think head safe: reduce heading in training

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