[Football] Scottish FA poised to ban kids from heading balls.

AmexRuislip · Jan 16, 2020

A ban on children heading the ball in Scotland could be in place in a matter of weeks due to fears over the links between football and dementia.
BBC Scotland has learned the Scottish FA wants to lead the way on the issue after*a report found*former players are more at risk of dying from the disease.
The governing body is expected to announce a ban on under-12s heading the ball in training later this month.
A similar ban has been in place in the US since 2015."]A ban on children heading the ball in Scotland could be in place in a matter of weeks due to fears over the links between football and dementia.
BBC Scotland has learned the Scottish FA wants to lead the way on the issue after*a report found*former players are more at risk of dying from the disease.
The governing body is expected to announce a ban on under-12s heading the ball in training later this month.
A similar ban has been in place in the US since 2015.

Blimey this is going to take some stopping, especially as heading is an important part of the game.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-51129653

Thunder Bolt · Jan 16, 2020

It is for under 12s. They can learn more ball control with their feet until they are old enough.

AmexRuislip · Jan 16, 2020

Thunder Bolt said:
It is for under 12s. They can learn more ball control with their feet until they are old enough.

It would be interesting how this is practiced at the Albion Academy.

maltaseagull · Jan 16, 2020

AmexRuislip said:
It would be interesting how this is practiced at the Albion Academy.

Strikers aren't allowed to head the ball?

(Except Glen of course)

dsr-burnley · Jan 16, 2020

They can head the ball in matches apparently, just not in training. Which opens up another can of worms - presumably you aren't allowed to teach them how to head it?

GT49er · Jan 16, 2020

AmexRuislip said:
A ban on children heading the ball in Scotland could be in place in a matter of weeks due to fears over the links between football and dementia.
BBC Scotland has learned the Scottish FA wants to lead the way on the issue after*a report found*former players are more at risk of dying from the disease.
The governing body is expected to announce a ban on under-12s heading the ball in training later this month.
A similar ban has been in place in the US since 2015."]A ban on children heading the ball in Scotland could be in place in a matter of weeks due to fears over the links between football and dementia.
BBC Scotland has learned the Scottish FA wants to lead the way on the issue after*a report found*former players are more at risk of dying from the disease.
The governing body is expected to announce a ban on under-12s heading the ball in training later this month.
A similar ban has been in place in the US since 2015.

Blimey this is going to take some stopping, especially as heading is an important part of the game.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-51129653

I wonder if this report has taken into account the age of the players, and more specifically, when they were playing football. Those old leather balls, especially when wet, were a lot more potentially dangerous than the modern lightweight ones which swirl around in a bit of a breeze. Also thinking back to those days, goalkeepers used to routinely boot the ball high and hard, as far as they could, and the opposing defenders were there to head it back. Games often involved considerable passages of head tennis - 'keeping it on the ground' was one for the future!

Tom Hark Preston Park · Jan 16, 2020

Scottish FA poised to ban kids from scoring goals.

Fixed that for OP :down:

AmexRuislip · Jan 16, 2020

GT49er said:
I wonder if this report has taken into account the age of the players, and more specifically, when they were playing football. Those old leather balls, especially when wet, were a lot more potentially dangerous than the modern lightweight ones which swirl around in a bit of a breeze. Also thinking back to those days, goalkeepers used to routinely boot the ball high and hard, as far as they could, and the opposing defenders were there to head it back. Games often involved considerable passages of head tennis - 'keeping it on the ground' was one for the future!

Headerball has been replaced by Potterball

el punal · Jan 16, 2020

Set pieces against Scotland will interesting in twenty years time. :wink:

Thunder Bolt · Jan 16, 2020

dsr-burnley said:
They can head the ball in matches apparently, just not in training. Which opens up another can of worms - presumably you aren't allowed to teach them how to head it?

They can start learning when they get to 12 years old. Protecting youngsters seems to be a good idea imo.

Worthing exile · Jan 16, 2020

Thunder Bolt said:
They can start learning when they get to 12 years old. Protecting youngsters seems to be a good idea imo.

Is there an age limit for Boxing? Otherwise it is strange that you can't head a ball but can be punched repeatedly in the head?

Thunder Bolt · Jan 16, 2020

Worthing exile said:
Is there an age limit for Boxing? Otherwise it is strange that you can't head a ball but can be punched repeatedly in the head?

You learn to box with a head guard. I doubt very much the kids will learn to head a ball whilst wearing a head guard.

symyjym · Jan 16, 2020

It's probably better to teach them how to play the ball and keep it on the ground to develop their football anyway. Master that first and it should make them better footballers in the long run.

Tom Hark Preston Park · Jan 16, 2020

Thunder Bolt said:
You learn to box with a head guard. I doubt very much the kids will learn to head a ball whilst wearing a head guard.

To be fair tho, the footballs that were responsible, possibly, for inducing dementia in football heroes of yesteryear bear little relation to the footballs of today Today's are plastic coated, light as a feather comparatively, and don't soak up water to end up twice the weight they were at the start of the game.

Mellor 3 Ward 4 · Jan 16, 2020

Scottish FA poised to ban national team from ever qualifying for another major tournament.

Too late.

Brok · Jan 16, 2020

Thunder Bolt said:
You learn to box with a head guard. I doubt very much the kids will learn to head a ball whilst wearing a head guard.

Oh dear, I'd hate to bump this thread in a couple of years time when all the kids are wearing American style helmets to appease h and s rules...

Chinman3000 · Jan 16, 2020

2032 World Cup should be interesting then - A cross comes into the box and no Scottish players can head it because they're not even in the tournament because they're sh1te

DavePage · Jan 16, 2020

Head butting still on the Scottish school curriculum however

Swansman · Jan 16, 2020

GT49er said:
I wonder if this report has taken into account the age of the players, and more specifically, when they were playing football. Those old leather balls, especially when wet, were a lot more potentially dangerous than the modern lightweight ones which swirl around in a bit of a breeze. Also thinking back to those days, goalkeepers used to routinely boot the ball high and hard, as far as they could, and the opposing defenders were there to head it back. Games often involved considerable passages of head tennis - 'keeping it on the ground' was one for the future!

If I remember it right, the research they are basing this decision on is actually based on players from the "leather" era.

But still... its not dementia, but if you look at other neurological diseases such as MND is about 5 times more common for footballers than for others - and the average onset of the disease is in the 40s among footballers compared to the 60s among others. Players like Luton Shelton, Fernando Ricksen, Krzystof Nowak, Stephen Darby, Marian Cisovsky, Tony Hopper and so on probably havent headed many leather balls in their lives yet got the disease in their 30s, early 40s and sometimes 20s. And if heading - if this is the cause, some have suggested fertilizers used on pitches may be the real reason - a modern ball could cause ALS then I wouldnt be surprised if it can cause dementia or other trouble as well.

Since players from other sports where someone or something repeatedly hits you in the head year out and year in also suffers from increased rates of neurological diseases with earlier-than-usual onsets, it seems like its not coincidental. And even for a layman without any medical education the connection between getting hit in the head -> brain injury seems pretty likely.

Its a brave decision from the Scottish FA but I wouldnt be surprised if more were to follow as a lot of research is being done on this topic and most of it so far suggests a link between "head contact" sports and a variety of neurological problems.

Dick Knights Mumm · Jan 16, 2020

Tom Hark said:
Today's are plastic coated, light as a feather comparatively, .

Only if inflated correctly - and for that you need a decent pump (with gauge) and a bit of attention. Over-inflated you wouldn't want to head one.

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