Knowledge is power, they say. Knowledge also leads to deeper understanding, and that can mean better decisions.
We now know much more about brain injuries than we used to, and studies of a growing prevalence of dementia in former professional footballers is calling the whole practice of heading in the game into question.
From West Brom striker Jeff Astle to World Cup heroes Nobby Stiles, Jack Charlton and now Sir Bobby Charlton, there is a worrying trend developing.
The Guardian reports: “Last year, a study compared thousands of footballers in Scotland with the wider population and found that a former player was three-and-a-half times likelier to develop a neurodegenerative disease than the norm, even allowing for the fact they tended to live longer too. For Alzheimer’s the figure was five-fold.”
There are many factors to be taken on board, and many questions still remain – is it primarily the generations who grew up with heavier leather balls who are most vulnerable? Would some have developed dementia anyway? Is there similar evidence from other sports such as boxing and rugby?
It does look as if the prevalence among elderly ex-footballers is no coincidence, and so the implications for the game are increasingly clear. Knowing that some aspects of a sport have potentially deadly consequences later on in life should, indeed must, lead to change.
The FA has this year introduced a ban on heading in primary schools, and a tapered approach through the teenage years. This should at least start to reduce the amount of time a footballer spends heading a ball, but it may only be the start.
Much as we love it, football is a sport. A game which we don’t have to play. So changing it to make it safer has to be a priority, as we know about the effects it can have on the body. If we’re to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, it’s the least we can do.
Guardian article: Q&A Why are so many former footballers suffering from dementia?
Photo: Alasdair Middleton, Rothesay, Scotland (Wikimedia Commons)