Heading in football limited in training

[davieG]

Heading in football: Professional players in England limited to 10 'higher force headers' a week in training

 

 

Professional footballers in England are to be limited to 10 "higher force headers" a week in training under new guidelines for the upcoming season.

It comes after recent "multiple studies" were conducted into concerns about the long-term dangers of heading.

In 2019, a study found professional footballers were more likely to suffer from neurodegenerative brain disease.

Guidance for amateurs is "10 headers per session and only one session a week where heading practice is included".

Dementia: Does heading a football cause the disease?

It comes after an MPs' inquiry earlier in July said that sport has been allowed to "mark its own homework" on reducing the risks of brain injury.

"The preliminary studies identified the varying forces involved in heading a football, which were provided to a cross-football working group to help shape the guidance," said a joint statement on behalf of the Football Association, Premier League, English Football League, Professional Footballers' Association and League Managers Association regarding the professional game.

"Based on those early findings, which showed the majority of headers involve low forces, the initial focus of the guidance will be on headers that involve higher forces.

"These are typically headers following a long pass (more than 35m) or from crosses, corners and free-kicks.

"It will be recommended that a maximum of 10 higher force headers are carried out in any training week.

"This recommendation is provided to protect player welfare and will be reviewed regularly as further research is undertaken to understand more regarding the impact of heading in football."

Research into football and head trauma has shown professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die from dementia than people of the same age range in the general population.

The Premier League introduced a trial of additional permanent concussion substitutions in February, while the FA introduced head injury substitutes into the FA Cup in February.

Children aged 11 and are no longer taught to head footballs during training in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while FA guidelines for coaches also puts limits on how much heading older children should do.

[majaco]

Overall, this has to be a good thing.

 

I wonder where this will lead.  Perhaps in 20 years there will no longer be heading in the game.   

[filbertway]

Narrator: "It was at that moment that Sam Allardyce decided to retire from the game he loved"

[filbertway]

Seems like a poor rule to me anyway, that is a huge shift in a very fundamental part of the game. You'd need very convincing evidence that it's dangerous.

[Guest SO1]

17 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Narrator: "It was at that moment that Sam Allardyce decided to retire from the game he loved"

Dont forget Tony Pulis.

[st albans fox]

 

 

if you’re doing set piece defensive training then you’ll have to keep rotating the defenders …. That’s not going to solve your defensive set piece problems ! 
 

it’s good as it highlights that you’ve got to plan better to avoid doing too much stuff m the same week that involves this type of heading 

[Guest TaggertvsWise]

I suppose a simple rule would be, you can’t head it and it falls under the same category as a handball.

[sacreblueits442]

1 hour ago, filbertway said:

Seems like a poor rule to me anyway, that is a huge shift in a very fundamental part of the game. You'd need very convincing evidence that it's dangerous.

...even with their helmets on, it was found that the impact of helmet against helmet resulted in later trauma where the player ended up taking his own life having played in the NFL!!!

  The sport played down the research and attempted to cover up the findings. Very good film called "Concussion" on Netflix tells the story.

[HybridFox]

Not that we're great at headers 

 

Jokes aside it's something we can't continue to ignore though. Maybe in the long run we'll see further changes 

[davieG]

Posted this in a PL thread a while back

 

On 24/12/2020 at 09:06, davieG said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55433140

 

Heading might not exist in football in 10 to 15 years time because of the risks involved, former Tottenham and Hull midfielder Ryan Mason says.

Mason, capped once by England, had to retire from football after fracturing his skull playing for Hull in 2017.

A recent study showed that footballers are three and a half times more likely to suffer from dementia.

"It wouldn't surprise me in 10 to 15 years if heading wasn't involved in the game," Mason, 29, told BBC Sport.

Ex-players call for government to review possible link between heading and dementia
"The research and the momentum it's getting, I think it's probably going to open up a lot more stuff that becomes quite shocking.

"I'm not sure footballers are fully aware of the potential damage. This is where the more research, the more understanding, the more education current players get, the better.

"It might even get to a point where you might need to sign something to say that I'm OK [playing with the risk].

"It really is concerning. The problem we have is you don't know the effects until you get later on in life."

The Field study, conducted by neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart, found that footballers were more likely to suffer from dementia and other brain injury diseases, but has not established whether it was caused by concussions from collisions or repeatedly heading the ball.

The family of 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, who was diagnosed with a brain condition linked to repeated blows to the head, believe heading caused his dementia before he died in October.

Changes have already been made to how often children are allowed to head the ball, but there are also concerns about how head injuries have been treated in football.

Former Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen said earlier this month that he felt the effects of a concussion for nine months after he tried to play on during a Champions League match two seasons ago.

Mason, who said he was "lucky to be alive" after his clash of heads with former Chelsea defender Gary Cahill, found Vertonghen's story "quite shocking".

And he questions why football has opted for trials of permanent concussion substitutions rather than temporary ones seen in rugby union.

From January, teams will be allowed to use two additional permanent substitutes to allow for head injuries. But there has been criticism of that move from Stewart and brain charity Headway, who believe that temporary substitutions are a better alternative.

That process allows a substitute to come on the field immediately, allowing a doctor 10 minutes to make an assessment rather than the permanent option, where the decision is made in a shorter period of time.

The temporary option has flaws, according to Football Association head of medicine Charlotte Cowie, as players can sometimes still be allowed to return to play after a longer assessment.

But Mason, who is now coaching at Tottenham's academy, says the permanent option adds more "pressure" to the decision.

"Why [is football] not following something that is in place and has worked?" he said.

"Rugby has a protocol in place that gives the players, the team and the individual the opportunity to go off to be tested by an independent doctor away from the pitch where there isn't pressure from the manager to get the player back on the pitch - or pressure [from the stands] when the fans are back."

 

[StanSP]

Can see why they're doing it because the long term conditions are quite bad based on the research. 

 

Gonna be very odd for the players though actually having restrictions on it. 

[Flamey]

Surely the human race can design some kind of forehead protection that doesn't impede? They would have something else to have sponsorship for at least. Can't imagine the game without headers....it would have to be renamed as .....erm.....football 

[TrickyTrev Benjamin]

Can’t take heading away from football. Wouldn’t be the same game. I’m sorry but footballs aren’t what they where 30-40 years ago either. Corners would be pointless. There’s a lot of footballers who have header the ball their whole lives and never ended up with dementia. 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

Good thing for youngsters who might learn how to play the game without lumping it forward.

 

Theres lots of assumptions here that essentially need more research. Like are modern balls better than the old supposedly heavier balls? I don’t think that’s clear, and whether the pros of today will be caught up in a greater prevalence of cognitive issues - which btw are not just solely down to things like this (dementia risks are variable - including genetics and lifestyle etc, all the way down to educational attainment).

[Daz93]

How do you go about enforcing something like this? I'm just imagining an FA representative with an abacus and a clipboard sat at the side of every training pitch.

[Ric Flair]

Putting the safety aspect to one side, this surely has a huge impact on training for defenders and attackers? 

[Apollo]

If this became an in game rule, wouldn’t you just launch the ball forward knowing the defence can’t head it?

[when_you're_smiling]

1 hour ago, TrickyTrev Benjamin said:

Can’t take heading away from football. Wouldn’t be the same game. I’m sorry but footballs aren’t what they where 30-40 years ago either. Corners would be pointless. There’s a lot of footballers who have header the ball their whole lives and never ended up with dementia. 

It’s more the relatives of the older generation who don’t want it to happen to other footballers.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50124102

Edit - In summary they’re about three and a half times more likely to get dementia.

 

 

 

Edited 28 July 2021 by when_you're_smiling

[Guest Sharpe's Fox]

The Stoke City first team 2008-2013 will be celebrating

Edited 28 July 2021 by Sharpe's Fox

[Hollism]

1 hour ago, TrickyTrev Benjamin said:

Can’t take heading away from football. Wouldn’t be the same game. I’m sorry but footballs aren’t what they where 30-40 years ago either. Corners would be pointless. There’s a lot of footballers who have header the ball their whole lives and never ended up with dementia. 

This rule is specifically against headers from a ball more than 35 metres away, so corners wouldn’t be affected. It’s pretty much goal kicks only, and how often are teams practising heading on from a GK?

 

I know you’re probably speculating about further enforcements in the future rather than just this one, which is fair.

 

I’ve never been involved in a professional football training session in any capacity, but I can’t really see how this would change things that much for any side that isn’t an advocate of the art of hoofball.

[filbertway]

10 minutes ago, Hollism said:

This rule is specifically against headers from a ball more than 35 metres away, so corners wouldn’t be affected. It’s pretty much goal kicks only, and how often are teams practising heading on from a GK?

 

I know you’re probably speculating about further enforcements in the future rather than just this one, which is fair.

 

I’ve never been involved in a professional football training session in any capacity, but I can’t really see how this would change things that much for any side that isn’t an advocate of the art of hoofball.

You made the same mistake as me mate, read it again

 

"Based on those early findings, which showed the majority of headers involve low forces, the initial focus of the guidance will be on headers that involve higher forces.

"These are typically headers following a long pass (more than 35m) or from crosses, corners and free-kicks.

"It will be recommended that a maximum of 10 higher force headers are carried out in any training week.

 

So basically set piece training is out.

[Hollism]

3 minutes ago, filbertway said:

You made the same mistake as me mate, read it again

 

"Based on those early findings, which showed the majority of headers involve low forces, the initial focus of the guidance will be on headers that involve higher forces.

"These are typically headers following a long pass (more than 35m) or from crosses, corners and free-kicks.

"It will be recommended that a maximum of 10 higher force headers are carried out in any training week.

 

So basically set piece training is out.

Oh damn yeah you’re right.

 

I’ve made myself look a twonk there. Must have headed to many footballs as a kid

[Corky]

Correct decision. Heading won't be banned but be limited. The balls might not be as heavy as those 60 years ago but they aren't beachball light either, there's still a lot of force affecting the brain when the ball makes full contact.

 

Better to limit now whilst undertaking the research than leave it.

[RoboFox]

We've been working up to this for the last few seasons. 

 

Whilst everyone else has been practicing the archaic art of trying to find a head in the box from a corner, we've been future-proofing by always hitting the chest of the first man. 

[Guest]

The headlines all seem a bit drastic and it'll be interesting to see how seriously teams take these recommendations, not that we'll have any way of knowing either way of course. I wouldn't be hugely surprised if they carry on as normal in the same way that we continue to see players getting knocked out or taking massive blows to the head and playing on.

 

It is something we need to have a good think about sooner or later though. Modern balls might be lighter but they travel faster as a consequence and they don't stick to the ground when wet like the old ones used to. When I was researching this at uni I spoke to one of the neurosurgeons who's been assisting with Raul Jimenez's recovery as well as Dawn Astle and it was pretty sobering to hear what not only her father but the whole family had been through. Football without heading would undoubtedly be worse as a spectacle but if research continues to show there's a clear link then I think it's well worth considering ways we can limit it. I don't think it would be right to ask players to potentially jeopardise their futures just because we all agree diving headers are really great.

 

 

Edited 28 July 2021 by Guest