Professional footballers in Scotland are to be banned from heading the ball in training the day before and the day after a game.
Clubs are also being told to limit exercises that involve repetitive heading to one session per week.
The new guidelines come after Glasgow University research that showed former footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die from brain disease.
Experts believe there could be a link to repetitive heading of the ball.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) already has guidelines in place limiting heading in youth football, with a ban on headers in training for the under-12 age group.
Scotland was also the first country in the world to have a single set of concussion guidelines for all sports, with the “If in doubt, sit them out” campaign.
The new guidelines are being introduced after consultation with the 50 clubs across the professional men’s and women’s game in Scotland and following an SFA survey of clubs to gauge heading trends.
Clubs are also being told to monitor heading activity in training with the aim of reducing the overall burden of contact.
Memory impairment
Dr John MacLean has been the SFA doctor for more than 20 years and was involved in the 2019 field study that highlighted the link between dementia and former professional players.
“While the research continues to develop, what we already know about heading and its effects on the brain suggests that there is measurable memory impairment lasting 24-48 hours following a series of headers, and that brain-related proteins can be detected in blood samples for a short time after heading,” he said.
MacLean further added, “Brain scan changes have also been reported in footballers that may be linked to heading.
“Therefore, the goal is to reduce any potential cumulative effect of heading by reducing the overall exposure to heading in training.”
The new guidelines will mean a change for many training routines that involve set-piece exercises, the day before a match.
“We’ve taken our time with this because we wanted to really engage with stakeholders across football.
“We wanted to determine just how much heading is taking place in training to get a baseline idea.
“Then there was the engagement process with players, through PFA Scotland but also with the clubs, the managers and coaches through the Scottish FA.
“It was all about collective responsibility and safeguarding player health and well-being.”
In-match heading
Andy Gould, the SFA’s chief football officer, said there was already a great deal of data around in-match heading.
But he said the latest research had been “invaluable in understanding the extent of heading load within the training environment”.
He added: “I am grateful to the clubs, managers and players for providing us with the information and perspectives required to facilitate an informed and data-driven discussion which has culminated in the publication of guidelines designed to protect the safety and wellbeing of our players.”
Earlier this year, the FA in England introduced guidelines for clubs that limits players to 10 high impact headers per week, during training.
A number of high-profile former footballers have died from dementia in recent years, including the former Celtic captain Billy McNeill and former England World Cup winner and Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton.
Analysis
There are huge physical and mental benefits to playing football, but the steps taken in recent years to reduce heading in the game reflects the growing concern about the science that continues to link football to long-term brain injury.
The limited push-back from Scottish clubs, on new guidelines that could drastically change the way players train and managers coach, also shows the message is getting through.
When new guidelines are introduced or new studies published, it always leads to the basic question “is heading a football safe?”
The science shows what is happening to former professionals, but so far can’t determine why. The latest data shows the risk is greater with defenders, who statistically head more often.
For all of those reasons, the experts are taking no chances.
It could take decades for new measures to provide the data that will lead to a definitive answer and science is not willing to wait.
The evolution of style and tactics has meant fewer headers in the game anyway, but if the changes continue, due to mounting scientific evidence and pressure, it isn’t difficult to imagine a game of the future without them.
