AGENCIES
MANCHESTER
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has urged the Football Association to ban children under the age of 10 from heading the ball.
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor is concerned that youngsters could suffer brain injuries by constantly heading the ball during their formative years.
This follows a study by the University of Stirling which found heading a ball could cause memory problems for 24 hours.
Experts now want to study the implications for younger players whose brains are still developing.
At least 250 former footballers have been diagnosed with serious degenerative brain conditions in recent years and the PFA believe the FA should consider following the example set by the United States, where children 12 or younger are already banned from heading.
Taylor told the Daily Telegraph: "I think that has to be a serious consideration. It is not a knee-jerk reaction.
"It would be a considered reaction bearing in mind evidence that has been coming through from different sports and to a limited extent in football.
"There have been rule changes for youngsters about pitches they play on, about the numbers in the game, about whether or not girls should be involved with boys and up to what age.
"It is very much in line with that. We don't want to put off the next generation but we need to be very mindful. The game needs to have a duty of care to all its participants."
Former West Bromwich Albion striker and England international Jeff Astle died in 2002 from a brain trauma caused by heading the heavy leather footballs used during the 1960s and 1970s.
The Stirling study reported a reduction in memory performance of 41-67 per cent, in the 24 hours after players had headed a football 20 times.
Memory function did return to normal 24 hours later but the call for urgent and more detailed research is likely to grow louder following the report.
Dr Willie Stewart, who collaborated on the research, added: "It stunned me that just a single session of practice - nothing untoward, nothing out of the ordinary - could produce that immediate change.
"I did not expect to see any real changes to the brain. My jaw hit the table when I looked at the results."
And in response to the PFA urging the FA to ban children under 10 from heading the ball, an FA spokesperson has told Sky Sports New HQ: "The FA is committed to researching and examining all areas of head injuries in football and, in particular, around the long-term effects on players.
