Worrying link between football and dementia set to be investigated by scientists following documentary by Alan Shearer
The study will begin in January, the Football Association announced yesterday
A LONG-AWAITED study into the links between football and dementia will start in January, the Football Association announced yesterday.
At least 300 former professional footballers have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, including three of England’s 1966 World Cup winners.
Players’ relatives have accused authorities of being “in denial” about a possible link amid fears it could lead to compensation claims.
But The FA and players’ union The Professional Footballers’ Association have now agreed to fund new research at the University of Glasgow.
It will be led by Dr William Stewart, the consultant neuropathologist who claimed former striker Jeff Astle died because of repeated head trauma.
The West Brom and England player developed dementia and died in 2002 at the age of 59.
An inquest found repeatedly heading heavy leather footballs contributed to his “industrial injury”.
And Astle’s family has campaigned for the football authorities to research the link between brain injuries and the sport.
Dr Stewart will examine a wide range of mental and physical illnesses among 15,000 former professional footballers.
Data from the study – titled “Football’s Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk” – will be compared with data from the general public.
Results are expected within three years.
His team will address the question: “Is the incidence of degenerative neurocognitive disease more common in ex-professional footballers than in the normal population.”
Dr Stewart said: “In the past decade there have been growing concerns around perceived increased risk of dementia through participation in contact sports, however, research data to support and quantify this risk have been lacking.
“We hope to be able to provide some understanding of the long-term health impact of football within the next two to three years.”
FA chief executive Martin Glenn said: “This new research will be one the most comprehensive studies ever commissioned into the long-term health of former footballers.
“Dementia can have a devastating effect and, as the governing body of English football, we felt compelled to commission a significant new study in order to fully understand if there are any potential risks associated with playing the game.”
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said: “Neurological problems in later life which may be connected to concussion, head injuries and heading the ball have been on our agenda for the last twenty years.
“Research undertaken so far has been inconclusive and we are now fully appreciative of The FA’s support in establishing a robust, comprehensive research strategy.”