A heading ban in football training for children up to the end of primary school has been introduced with immediate effect in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. ITV News reports that the new guidance has been issued following a study which showed former footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neuro-degenerative disease. The ban will only apply to foundation phase players and will only be introduced to football training rather than match play.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow found no evidence to suggest the practice was the cause of an increased prevalence of neuro-degenerative conditions among footballers. But the decision to update the guidelines has been taken to "mitigate against any potential risks", the Football Association (FA) said. Officials said the guidelines would only be enforced in training due to the "limited number of headers" which occur in youth matches.
FA CEO Mark Bullingham said: "This updated heading guidance is an evolution of our current guidelines and will help coaches and teachers to reduce and remove repetitive and unnecessary heading from youth football.
"Our research has shown that heading is rare in youth football matches, so this guidance is a responsible development to our grassroots coaching without impacting the enjoyment that children of all ages take from playing the game."
[link url="https://www.itv.com/news/2020-02-24/fa-bans-heading-in-football-training-for-primary-school-children/"]Full ITV report[/link]