Concussion and brain trauma are emotive subjects in sport. As research continues to uncover the impact of traumatic head injuries, discussions about safety and the long-term health of players will continue to grow. In the USA, as early as 1906 doctors were publishing papers highlighting the dangers of concussion linked to playing American Football. In the UK, the FIELD study and other research have begun to uncover a pattern between increased incidence of dementia in ex-footballers and heading the ball. In response to this growing body of evidence linking heading with neurodegenerative conditions in later life, the Scottish FA (SFA) has decided to ban all heading across the professional ranks, the day before and day after matches.
Scotland’s Billy Gilmour is likely to be affected by the new SFA heading restrictions during international duty. Will it impact his club career in England?
Football had started to take the issue of concussion and traumatic brain injuries seriously before this announcement from the SFA. National and international governing bodies as well as players' unions have funded research to progress understanding to try and tackle the problem. Policies and recommendations have been developed in response to the initial findings from a number of landmark studies. Amongst adults, the recommendations have focused on reducing heading during training. Within the junior game, many FA’s have aimed to remove heading from training and matches for children playing in any under-14s competition.
The move by the SFA is a marked step in reducing exposure to heading amongst professional players. The ban on pre and post game-day heading is the clearest sign yet of the trend to limit heading in order to protect players' welfare during and following their careers.
Any changes such as this will have performance ramifications. For Scottish teams playing in European competitions that could mean only one day available to practice heading. Often fans think of heading practice in terms of specific heading drills. The wider performance question is actually related to set-piece practice. If a team’s players are not allowed to head the ball in the days surrounding matches, their ability to practice freekick, corner and other set-piece routines will be significantly inhibited.
Often set piece drills are a major focus of training during the day prior to a match. On this day, the physical nature of training is tapered in order to ensure players start a match as physically fresh as possible. Technical and tactical elements, particulalry relating to the upcoming game therefore, come to the fore.
If Scotland’s lead is followed across all FIFA nations, both international and club-level teams will be searching for a solution to the limitations such rule changes present. An area they will undoubtedly examine is technology. Football Virtual Reality (VR), to support training has been developing for a number of years. One of the most successful companies is Manchester based Rezzil. Their training system is being used by a number of clubs across a host of nations. It helps support player development, return to play from injury protocols and enhance in-game decision making. Interestingly, Rezzil has also developed a heading simulation game available via the Metta Quest platform. It allows players of any level to practice heading in an impact free environment, which could mean unlimited practice.
The integration of other technological solutions could foster individualised, playing unit or full team training opportunities. Via the development of Extented Reality (XR) solutions, players could be placed into realistic game scenarios, particularly set pieces, against hologramed opposition. They would then complete to attack a virtual ball, removing the direct impact of heading. Currently, these scenarios can be created by lifting previous game footage and playing through an XR system. However multiple limitations as to its viability exist. An effective XR system is expensive and from a performance point of view, untested as to the crossover benefit from training into a game.
Necessity is the mother of invention, so with the need to find a solution to restrictive training and practice rules, more focus on tech solutions is inevitable. The development of XR as a training tool is likely to be accelerated. The continued development of AI and therefore its greater role within XR systems should enhance the effectiveness of training scenarios. This should lead to a more effective training benefit.
As more research is completed, a nuanced approach could be developed to protect players. New saliva-based testing could offer a quick and effective way of assessing players' fitness to train. The technology which is being developed by Swiss company Marker Diagnostics uses biomarkers to identify if a player is concussed. However, at the elite level of sport, players could be regularly tested and have training adjusted in terms of heading if major deviations from their normal biomarker levels are detected.
This could mean that in the days surrounding a game, some players are ok to take part in a full training session, including heading. Others may need to refrain from heading for a number of days, and may even need to miss matches. This may seem extreme, but if it helps safeguard players from issues in later life, it is up to authorities to do all they can to protect them, often from themselves.
Concussion and head injury in sport will continue to be difficult subjects. The move from the Scottish FA is a significant one. It puts player welfare above performance in a clear sign of the seriousness with which it takes the issue. Authorities must first try to prevent concussive events in sport and then balance player welfare with the physicality, tradition, health benefits and entertainment of playing sports that millions love. If heading is to remain part of the game, it seems technology is going to have to play a significant role in limiting the exposure players have outside of competitive matches.
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