New guidelines for players in the EFL and the Premier League have been released which restrict the number of headers they can perform in training to 10 per week. This includes headers from long balls, crosses, corners and free kicks.

In England, primary schoolers have been banned from practising headers completely. The main reason behind heading the ball being discouraged is due to the effects it has on the health of the players. According to studies, a footballer is 3.5 times more likely to suffer from a neurodegenerative disease than the general public. This can give rise to diseases such as dementia and other brain diseases.

Notable players, such as Jeff Astle and Mike Sutton have fallen victim to this side of the sport, and numerous people and organizations have been campaigning for the governing bodies to make the game safer for those playing.

‘It will be recommended that a maximum of 10 higher force headers are carried out in any training week,’ the Premier League said in a joint statement with the Football Association, EFL, Professional Footballers’ Association and League Managers’ Association.

‘This recommendation is provided to protect player welfare and will be reviewed regularly as further research is undertaken to understand more regarding the impact of heading in football.’

While the force involved in headers is low in many cases, for long balls played from any situation over 35 metres, the forces are much higher. And the number of these headers is now being cut down to maintain the long-term safety of the players.