Alan Shearer: I fear I may develop dementia from years of heading heavy footballs 

Alan Shearer being tested for decreased brain function after heading footballs 
Alan Shearer being tested for decreased brain function after heading footballs  Credit: BBC

Today’s footballers may be at greater risk of head injury and dementia because balls are heavier than in the past, a new documentary suggests.

Although vintage brown leather footballs appear more cumbersome than today’s precision-engineered balls, in fact, they were 40 grams lighter. Only when they were wet did they become significantly heavier.

Speaking to the Telegraph ahead of a new BBC documentary looking into the issue of dementia in football, former England captain Alan Shearer, 47, said he was concerned that continually heading modern balls in practice may have damaged his brain.

Several former players, including Jeff Astle and Nobby Stiles developed dementia in later years, a condition that their families believe was a direct result of heading the ball. In 2002, a coroner even gave the cause of Astle’s death as industrial disease.

Alan Shearer was asked to take part in testing at the University of Stirling 
Alan Shearer was asked to take part in testing at the University of Stirling  Credit: BBC

But little has been done since to tackle the issue, and there are fears that today’s players may be at even greater risk from heavier balls, particularly teens whose brains are still developing.

“I am concerned that I might develop dementia, it is definitely something that bothers me, that I might not have a future because of football,” Shearer said, who was known to practice heading 150 times a day, and suffered regular head-to-head clashes on the pitch.

“I’ve had head injuries on the pitch and you run off and get a few stitches and you get bandaged up and you’re straight back out. It was what was expected.

“But it’s more the damage that happened by continually heading the ball in practice. That’s what worry’s me. Then you would be heading the ball 30, 40, 50 times.

“It’s been 15 years now since the coroner found that Jeff Astle died from an industrial disease. Yet nothing has changed. His family are angry and disappointed, and rightly so.

“When Fabrice Muamba had a heart attack and collapsed, within six months there were defibrillators on every pitch.”

Alan Shearer and Dr Willie Stewart examining the brains of people who have died of dementia
Alan Shearer and Dr Willie Stewart examining the brains of people who have died of dementia  Credit: BBC

Shearer asked to make the documentary with the BBC after stumbling across the film Concussion while on a flight, which highlights the issue of dementia in American football.

For the programme, he visited scientists at the University of Stirling who measured his brain function before and after a session of heading a new ball 20 times, fired from a machine designed to simulate the pace and power of a corner kick.

The scientists found intriguing differences in his brain chemistry which will be revealed in the programme on Sunday.

Last year the Scottish researchers were the first to detected direct changes in the brain after players were exposed to minor head impacts, as opposed to clinical brain injuries like a concussion.

Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Magdalena Ietswaart, a senior psychology lecturer at Stirling, said: “Although the changes were temporary, we believe they are significant to brain health, particularly if they happen over and over again as they do in football heading.

“With large numbers of people around the world participating in this sport, it is important that they are aware of what is happening inside the brain and the lasting effect this may have.”

The footballer was asked to carry out a number of balance and mental tests to see if heading the ball affected brain function 
The footballer was asked to carry out a number of balance and mental tests to see if heading the ball affected brain function  Credit: BBC

The researchers also weighed old balls compared to the seemingly lighter balls used today. Surprisingly, the average older ball was lighter, coming in at  around 390g while newer versions weighed in at roughly 430g.

Footballs changed significantly from the early 80s when they began to be coated in polyurethane to keep out the water. The Stirling researchers found that soaking an older ball in water could raise its weight to 595g, making rainy days significantly more dangerous for heading.

Shearer also underwent brain scans to find out if he had signs of dementia. The results will be revealed in the programme 
Shearer also underwent brain scans to find out if he had signs of dementia. The results will be revealed in the programme  Credit: BBC

Shearer also had his brain scanned to see if he had any signs of dementia.

“I have never had problems with my memory, but I was thinking ‘what am I putting myself through?’ and ‘what might I have done to myself’,” he said.

“They sat me down beforehand and said, ‘listen there is a chance we could find something nasty’ and I was thinking, ‘I’m not sure I actually want to know.’

“It’s really important that we get answers to whether football can cause dementia. So this documentary is really a call to action, for more research so we can start making decisions like whether to ban heading for under 16s.

“There are 850,000 people suffering dementia in Britain, and for some that might because of football. And that can’t be right.”

Alan Shearer: Dementia Football & Me is broadcast on November 12 at 10.30pm on BBC One.

License this content