PFA chief Taylor suggests heading ban for under 10 players

The English FA is continuing its research into the health effects of heading the ball after players' chief Gordon Taylor suggested a ban on headers for players under the age of 10 should be considered. There are long-standing concerns that the act of repeatedly heading footballs can detrimentally affect long-term brain function and a University of Stirling study published earlier this year identified an immediate, though short-term, impact on memory after routine heading practice. Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said authorities should be open to the idea of limiting the exposure of under-10s to heading – a decision that has already been taken in the United States. Taylor said: "I think that has to be a serious consideration. It is not a knee-jerk reaction. It would be a considered reaction bearing in mind evidence that has been coming through from different sports and to a limited extent in football. "There have been rule changes for youngsters about pitches they play on, about the numbers in the game, about whether or not girls should be involved with boys and up to what age. "We don't want to put off the next generation but we need to be...

from timesofmalta.com http://ift.tt/2iOQRIg
via IFTTT