PFA sets up neurodegenerative care department for ex-players, with Dawn Astle as project lead

A dedicated care department for former players living with neurodegenerative disease (NDD) has been set up by the Professional Footballers' Association.

Campaigner Dawn Astle, daughter of former England and West Brom striker Jeff Astle who died in 2012, will be the project lead for NDD in football.

A neuropathologist said he died of a brain condition normally linked to boxers and caused by heading footballs.

The PFA says a new head of former player care will lead the department.

Rachel Walden, whose father Rod Taylor was diagnosed with an NDD after his death in 2018, will oversee an extended family support advisors' team.

Former England captain Dave Watson's wife Penny will act formally as an independent consultant and she believes his neurodegenerative disease was most likely brought on by head injuries and repeated heading of the ball.

On Wednesday, Wycombe midfielder Matt Bloomfield retired on medical grounds after the impact of a serious concussion, when a free-kick hit him in the back of his head against Exeter in August.

New research last August showed defenders are more likely to have dementia in later life compared with other playing positions in football.

In 2019, a study by Professor Willie Stewart found that former footballers were about three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative brain disease than the general population.

In 2015, Astle's family launched the Jeff Astle Foundation,external-link which promotes care of others affected by the condition, as well as education about it and research into it.

Dawn Astle described the PFA's move as «significant step forward», adding: «I will always continue to support former players and their families living with dementia now, but a key focus of this new role