Head Strikes in Football: The Impact on Players' Health Investigated

2026-01-26 19:46 © ZUMAPRESS.com

People who play football are encouraged to refrain from heading the ball.

Research has shown that players who frequently head the ball have significantly higher chances of developing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or motor neuron diseases in the future.

Overall, former professionals have a 3.5 times greater likelihood of dying from neurodegenerative diseases.

The most dangerous position is defender, while the safest is goalkeeper.

Following the research, it has been banned in the UK for children to head the ball.

It is estimated that during a professional career, a player performs about 70,000 such headers, but only 2,000 of them are recorded during matches.