Scottish Football Association set to announce ban on children under 12 heading footballs in training

It has been claimed the Scottish Football Association will announce the ban for under-12s players later this month following the release of a report which discovered former professional footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of a degenerative brain disease than non-footballers.

A similar ban has been in place since 2015 in the United States but the SFA would become the first European country to impose such a restriction.

It is a decision which would be welcomed by talkSPORT duo Alan Brazil and Ally McCoist.

McCoist said: “It’s clearly a subject that’s very very important in terms of illness caused by heading the ball.

“Surveys have proved that there’s an element of that and if we look at some of the great players we’ve lost so you have to say there’s definitely something in it.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish FA said: “Since the publication of Football’s Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk [FIELD] study by Glasgow University into the link between football and dementia towards the end of last year, the Scottish FA has worked closely with the authors of the research – which includes the men’s national team doctor and medical advisor, Dr John MacLean – and wider football stakeholders to look at practical steps the national sport in this country can take to minimise risk in the area of head trauma.

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“Given the study was undertaken using medical records from Scottish footballers, there is an additional onus on the national governing body in this country to take a responsible yet proportionate approach to the findings.

“The presidential team of Rod Petrie and Mike Mulraney, along with chief executive Ian Maxwell, were keen that all possible options were open to discussion but that any final recommendations would be taken with the guidance of the medical experts.

“To that end, productive discussions have taken place within the auspices of the Scottish FA’s Professional and Non-Professional Game Boards, as well as main board, on proactive, preventative measures with particular focus on younger age groups.

“It is our intention to finalise those proposals with the relevant stakeholders in early course and further details will be announced thereafter.”

Brain injury association Headway has called for further research to be undertaken.

Chief executive of Headway Peter McCabe said in a statement: “In light of the recent study undertaken by the University of Glasgow which suggested that professional football players have a higher risk of neurodegenerative diseases than the general public, there does seem to be merits in considering such a move.

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