London, December 7 (BNA): The English Football Association, the Premier League and other football governing bodies have launched a new joint action plan to understand, promote and protect the brain health of players amid the risk of head injuries. Tuesday’s statement.
The issue of dementia in professional football was highlighted by the death last year of England’s Nobi Styles, who was diagnosed with the condition of several of his fellow 1966 World Cup winners, Reuters reports.
The British government was urged in July to impose a minimum standard protocol for concussion in all sports in an effort to reduce the risk of brain injury among athletes.
The joint statement issued by the FA, the English Premier League, the English Football League and the Professional Footballers’ Association said that the joint action plan focuses on research, education, awareness and support for players.
“Understanding the risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases in football is an incredibly complex area in medical science and requires exploration of many different lines of research,” said Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the FA.
“Football is working together to try to build a more complete picture by supporting a variety of projects. Until we have a greater level of understanding, we are also working to reduce potential risk factors.”
In July, the Premier League and other governing bodies announced that English football would limit the number of high-powered headers in training to 10 per week from the 2021-22 season to protect players as part of new guidelines.
“This new joint action plan will help build our understanding across English football of this complex region,” Bullingham added.
The Premier League introduced trials of permanent alternatives to concussion in February after the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the rules of the game, gave the green light for additional “concussion” trials.