Footballers and dementia

When most of these players were playing, the balls were far heavier than the ones used now.

I think the same with boxing.
The head isn`t meant to be hit or for heading a ball,FOOT is the key answer,it`s football not headball.
I imagine the speed the ball is kicked at can only cause serious damage in the long run.

A football weighs between 14 to 16 ozs and can be travelling at nearly 80 miles per hour so I don’t think the situation is going to improve in the present day, if it is heading the football that causes dementia. There is a lot of research going on at the moment to establish the correlation. After all a lot of people develop dementia who have never been anywhere near a football in their life.

There needs to be far more investigation into CTE. There have been studies etc in America and there was at one point a class action lawsuit against the NFL from players because of the long term effects of CTE.
Apparently American Footballers have got higher risk of developing CTE because despite the helmet, recurring concussions still happen. From memory it’s to do with the brain being damaged when players are being tackled, which a helmet can’t prevent.

Any contact sport which leaves the player open to recurring blows to the head or concussions need to research this, because there may be a correlation (there has been no official cause and effect proved) between CTE and increased aggression/reduced brain function. When coupled with drug/steroid abuse this issue creates huge volatility and is a disaster waiting to happen.

There have been some tragic cases which CTE have played a part in with one in particular of a wrestler who killed his wife and child before killing himself. When his brain was examined post-mortem, the CTE organisation said that due to recurring concussions he had (in his mid forties) the brain of an 80 yo dementia patient.

Football is a non contact sport.

I see your points, probably banning it is the better idea after all.

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The current guidelines don't stop children from heading the ball in matches, butthey do forbid heading the ball as part of training until the age of 12– when it is gradually introduced.

Years of heading a football can’t be good , seems like common sense to me . I feel strongly that heading the ball should be banned for all school children regardless of age. IMO it should be banned full ✋ !