Football and Dementia: Are headers the missing link?

FOOTBALL NOW is a new show that brings to light some of the biggest issues, challenges, and debates within the global game.

In recent years, there have been several medical reports published that highlight the fact that football players are at a greater risk of developing dementia. The reasoning behind this is a subject of great debate.

Jeff Astle became the first British footballer to have been ruled by an inquest to have died, aged just 59, due to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a type of dementia. In Jeff’s case, the low-level brain trauma was proved to have developed from the repeated heading of footballs.

One of England’s greatest ever footballers, Sir Bobby Charlton, has recently been diagnosed with dementia. Charlton is the fifth member of the country’s 1966 World Cup-winning side to suffer the disease.

As football is played by more people than any other sport around the world, understanding the long-term dangers of playing the game has never been more important.

The University of Glasgow conducted a landmark study into dementia and football based on the health records of around 8,000 former professional players in Scotland. The findings showed that players were 3.5 times more likely to die of neurodegenerative diseases than men who didn't play professionally.

The results also showed that footballers are five times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Defenders, in particular, are five times more likely than an average person to be diagnosed with dementia.

Another study by Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Keele looked into why football players have an increased risk of developing neurodegeneration.

The data gathered and the self-administered cognitive test proved there is a direct link