Safety first for young footballers - Sport 8th August 2022

An experiment to protect children under 12 in football is soon to take place in England. The Football Association (FA) has announced that hitting the ball with the head – “heading” - is forbidden.

The experiment will begin in the next football season in football competitions, clubs and schools in England. If the trial’s successful, the rule will soon include all future under 12 matches.

These steps are being taken as a direct result of scientific studies. Research into football and head injuries by brain consultant Dr Willie Stewart provides shocking figures about brain health. Heading the ball frequently over time permanently damages the brain’s nervous system.

Professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die from brain diseases such as dementia. Several well-known British footballers have now died from brain diseases.

Recently, new limits were recommended to professional footballers. They were advised to limit the number of headers during practice to a maximum of 10 weekly.

Paul Edwards is director of a charity for brain disease, Dementia UK. He’s pleased with these new steps to keep children safe when they’re playing football. He described the FA’s decision as “important.” For him, it shows the organisation’s accepted the link between football and brain illness.

However, the changes may raise questions for some footballers and fans. They’re imagining how different football will look without heading.