The prevalence of dementia in football must be tackled by the sport’s new independent regulator, MPs have said.
Members have called for the new watchdog to be given powers to investigate the issue or risk current players like Harry Kane suffering the same fate as England stars of the past like Sir Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles.
Charlton’s dementia diagnosis was confirmed in November 2020, weeks after the death of his 1966 World Cup-winning team-mate Stiles. A postmortem on Stiles’ brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts.
Stiles’ son John is the leader of the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) group which is bringing its campaign to Westminster on Tuesday.
FFJ has the support of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and is seeking an amendment to the Football Governance Bill to give the regulator powers to impose a statutory duty on the football authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy.
Chris Evans, the Labour MP for Caerphilly, said during the second Reading of the Bill in Parliament on Monday: “Footballers suffer neurodegenerative diseases at four to five times the national average. It is something that needs to be investigated.
“When the football regulator comes about, I hope research into medical conditions is part of its remit, to support people who have given so many others so much pleasure over the years.
“I hope that there is something we can do to ensure that the tragedies suffered by Nobby Stiles, Jackie Charlton and Bobby Charlton – legends whose names trip off the tongue – are not suffered by their successors, such as Harry Kane.”
Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said he felt the Premier League and the Football Association “do not do justice” by the families of affected former players.
“Those organisations are meant to help families with the care costs of such former professionals, but they do not do so,” he said.
“Will the Secretary of State meet Football Families for Justice so that we can put something in the Bill that will force the wealthy people in football to support those who suffer?”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy responded to say she planned to meet with the families “shortly”.
The campaign has the backing of another 1966 World Cup winner, Sir Geoff Hurst, along with former England captain David Beckham.
The FA and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) co-funded arguably the single most important piece of research which informs the debate on dementia in football, the 2019 FIELD Study, which found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population.
The PFA and the Premier League set up the Football Brain Health Fund in September 2023, worth an initial £1million, a figure FFJ leader Stiles has described as a “pittance”.
