MP calls for legal limits on heading in football training

Labour MP Grahame Morris has urged the government to introduce legal limits on repetitive heading in football training, according to BBC Sport. The Easington MP submitted an Early Day Motion on Tuesday seeking stronger protection for players' brain health. His proposal backs a national petition submitted in September by the charity Head Safe Football and calls for government involvement in prevention and education.

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The motion seeks a task force bringing together medical specialists, player representatives, campaigners and football authorities to develop safeguards that can be enforced. It also calls for a national plan to protect players' brain health, recognition of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, as a public health concern, and greater teaching about heading risks in schools and the PE curriculum. An Early Day Motion allows MPs to register support for an issue but does not guarantee a parliamentary debate.

Morris told BBC Sport that he wanted to draw attention to evidence connecting repeated head impacts with a higher risk of neurodegenerative disease. The broadcaster reported research finding that footballers were three and a half times more likely than the general population to die from such conditions. The Football Association, however, said the relationship between heading and long-term brain health remained under scientific and medical investigation.

Existing measures vary by level and country. The FA has phased out deliberate heading in grassroots matches for children aged 11 and under. Its training guidance recommends no more than 10 headers a week at amateur level, while professional clubs in England have been advised to limit players to 10 high-force training headers weekly. In Scotland's professional game, heading in training is banned on the days immediately before and after matches.

Head Safe Football founder Dr Judith Gates told BBC Sport that some coaches and parents were unaware of the guidance or did not understand its purpose. She argued for clearer restrictions, while acknowledging that a legal limit would be difficult to enforce. Her husband, former Middlesbrough player Bill Gates, died with CTE, a degenerative brain condition associated with repeated head impacts.

The debate also extends to support for former players. BBC Sport reported that a brain health fund established by the Professional Footballers' Association and Premier League has provided about £1 million annually since 2023, but campaigners say it does not cover care needs. The FA has not contributed financially to that fund; it said it continues to invest in research and has introduced guidance across professional and grassroots football.