With a group of American mothers suing Fifa for putting their children at risk of concussion, lawyers believe that it wont be long before parents in the UK do the same. The group has accused the Football Association of acting “carelessly and negligently”, calling for new safety rules to be introduced on how many times a player can head the ball during a game. 

This arose after research revealed the true dangers of heading a football.  It has been proven that, with children, their neck muscles have not fully developed yet, meaning that the head takes the majority of the impact from the moving ball. The mothers have also called to introduce a medical monitoring programme for people who have suffered concussions as a result of playing football.

“This has to be welcomed”

Since the worrying reality of concussion was revealed by research, the Football Association and the Premier League decided to change their guidelines for head injuries.  One particular game in the World Cup brought this problem to people’s attention.  Where players could previously decide to return to the pitch after a head injury on their own accord, the club doctor must now make this decision.

The chief executive of the UK’s leading brain injury charity ‘Headway’, Peter McCabe, said the American group’s legal action was part of a greater plan “to raise awareness of concussion in football, and this has to be welcomed.”

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