0:00:03 > 0:00:06I was a professional footballer for 20 years.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07Shearer!
0:00:09 > 0:00:11I was taught to head a football
0:00:11 > 0:00:16and practised sometimes over 100 times a day in training.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Alan Shearer, who else?
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Never, ever did I think heading footballs could be dangerous for me.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27New research, which points to risks for professional footballers...
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Findings will fuel concerns that players' brains are being permanently damaged.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Three of the surviving members of
0:00:32 > 0:00:36England's 1966 World Cup-winning team suffering from dementia...
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I know ex-footballers that have had this.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43As a footballer, you don't expect to die at 59 of brain damage.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Is there a link because you head a football?
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's a disgrace. How they could cover it up.
0:00:49 > 0:00:50I want to find out, I want to learn.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Work, work, work, work, work! Keep pushing!
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I'm not sure how I'll feel.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55I'll be very nervous.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Each time the ball's coming in contact with the head,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00there's just that little bit more damage.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I don't know what I'm going to find out.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07People may be scared to find out some answers.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10You've got 50,000 members.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Do you know how many of those have dementia?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15No, we don't.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19I'm asking the questions that should have been answered
0:01:19 > 0:01:21many, many years ago.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Could the beautiful game be dangerous?
0:01:32 > 0:01:37'I'm Alan Shearer. I've been in football all my life.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41'I've got to say that nothing quite beats the days of being out there.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44'That's what I always dreamed of, playing at the top,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48'playing for my country and, above all, scoring goals.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49CROWD ROARS
0:01:50 > 0:01:55I scored 260 Premier League goals, a fifth of them with my head,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58which must put me at risk if there is science behind the headlines
0:01:58 > 0:01:59about dementia and football.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03And if there is scientific proof
0:02:03 > 0:02:07should I be talking about the game I love in the way I do?
0:02:07 > 0:02:08He's a good, honest, centre-half,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and it was an excellent header, and won the game.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15'For every goal I scored with a header in a game,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'I must have practised it 1,000 times in training.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21'Just like Jeff Astle did.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23'He was good enough to play up front for England,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25'but he was best loved at West Bromwich Albion.'
0:02:25 > 0:02:27- COMMENTATOR:- Astle! He scores!
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Jeff Astle has achieved a record.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33He's scored in every round of the FA Cup.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38He was a great header of the ball, and scored 174 goals.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42The Baggies fans called him "The King".
0:02:45 > 0:02:46- Hello, Jeff.- Hello, David.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48CHEERING
0:02:49 > 0:02:55# Back home, they'll be thinking about us when we are far away
0:02:55 > 0:02:57# Back home... #
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Jeff died in 2002, at the age of 59.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03At his inquest, the coroner said he'd died of dementia
0:03:03 > 0:03:06brought on by years of heading the football -
0:03:06 > 0:03:09the first time such a connection had officially been made.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14'So, I've come to the West Midlands to meet Jeff's daughter, Dawn.'
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- Hello.- Hello.- Thanks very much, lovely to meet you.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19- And you.- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21- Fabulous, eh?- Brilliant.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23I like the way they've got the nine in the crown.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Number nine, the special number nine.- Yeah.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29So, tell us about your dad,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33when you first noticed something wasn't quite right.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Well, he was nearly 55, and my son was born,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and he couldn't remember his name, and he kept saying,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43"What's his name again?"
0:03:43 > 0:03:45And I said, "It's Matthew, Dad."
0:03:45 > 0:03:48And it's not like an unusual name or anything.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50And I just kept thinking, "Why can't you remember his name?"
0:03:50 > 0:03:55He suddenly came out one day and said, "Is my mum still alive?"
0:03:55 > 0:03:56And I thought,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59she's been dead, like, 17, 18 years,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and I thought, "What's he keep saying these weird things for?"
0:04:02 > 0:04:05And it was really hard for Mum to get him to go to the doctor's
0:04:05 > 0:04:08because, as I say, he didn't think there was anything wrong.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11She got him to go in the end, to the doctor's.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13All the time he was in with the doctor,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15he was still glaring at Mum as if to say, why am I here?
0:04:15 > 0:04:17And that's when,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20I suppose, your life sort of changed forever, then,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23because they said, we're really sorry, but we think
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Jeff's got early-onset dementia.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Do you remember how difficult were the next three or four years?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36- Take your time. - I know.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42It was...
0:04:43 > 0:04:44..the most...
0:04:44 > 0:04:46..devastating...
0:04:46 > 0:04:49..brutal thing I've ever seen in my life.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- It used to kill me to go and see him.- Mm.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54He'd try and get out of a moving car.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56You were a nervous wreck around him.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Erm... He would eat things you're not supposed to eat.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01He'd just go into the fridge and get a big scoop of butter
0:05:01 > 0:05:04in the middle of his hand, and put it in his mouth.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09And my dad had impeccable table manners. Impeccable table manners.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14It was devastating to see him just completely...change.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17He looked like Dad in the first few years.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21But when the disease really...took a hold on him...
0:05:23 > 0:05:25..the difference in how he looked...
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Um... He was 59 when he died, and he looked 159.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31And it just killed us.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35At the inquest today, the coroner heard from medical experts
0:05:35 > 0:05:37that the damage to Mr Astle's brain
0:05:37 > 0:05:41was the result of repeated minor trauma,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45probably caused by heading a heavy football.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49The pathologist who examined Dad's brain described how badly damaged it was.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51There was trauma right the way through it.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And that's when he said it was the repeated heading of footballs that
0:05:54 > 0:05:59he believed had caused all this trauma over a period of years.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01The ruling was "industrial disease", and so, in other words,
0:06:01 > 0:06:06Dad's job had killed him. And it was a landmark decision.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08And it wasn't until 2014, when his brain was re-examined,
0:06:08 > 0:06:13and it was found that he didn't have Alzheimer's, he had CTE,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18or boxer's brain, that's when we wanted to know why, you know.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22My dad was a footballer. How did he end up with boxer's brain?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26So, you're absolutely convinced that heading a football definitely had
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- something to do...- Definitely.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- ..with your... - Absolutely, definitely.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40'Before I spoke with Dawn, I was aware of the Jeff Astle situation,'
0:06:41 > 0:06:48but it's only now I realise that Dawn and her family have been through sheer hell.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Now, I've got to try and understand this a lot more
0:06:52 > 0:06:57because Dawn was mentioning boxer's brain, CTE, dementia.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02How on earth this can be involved or linked in any way with football,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05or heading a football?
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Jeff's is not an isolated case.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Studies by University College London have revealed CTE in four more
0:07:13 > 0:07:16footballers' brains.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18'I need answers, so I'm travelling to Glasgow
0:07:18 > 0:07:20'to meet Dr Willie Stewart,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23'the pathologist who found the disease in Jeff Astle's brain.'
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Can you just explain dementia, CTE?
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Great questions.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35So, dementia is where you've got a loss of normal brain function.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Your memory's affected, sometimes your personality's affected,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and it can progress to other systems affected as well.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41- Right.- It's a very loose term.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44There's lots and lots of different types of dementia.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47People are really familiar with Alzheimer's disease.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- Yeah.- But there are many other types of dementia, too.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54And this one that we are particularly interested in
0:07:54 > 0:07:58is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE - much easier to say.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01And that's been around for an awful long time.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06We used to recognise it and see it fairly regularly in former boxers.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09But, actually, it could be a footballer's brain, it could be a rugby player's brain.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It was a realisation that you didn't have to be a boxer to get this pathology,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16that, actually, it was exposure to brain injury and impacts that was the problem.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18- Is that what you found in Jeff Astle's brain?- Yeah.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26'CTE is a form of dementia that can be found only after death.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'So, I'm going to be looking at samples of brains
0:08:29 > 0:08:31'that have been removed.'
0:08:31 > 0:08:32I hope I'm not squeamish.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Mind your step. Thank you.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41What we have here is, I've got three recent cases,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43we're looking at about...
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- I'm just frowning, that's all. - Perplexed!
0:08:46 > 0:08:50..three recent cases of dementia.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53And they've all been dissected, so they're in bits.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55But just to let you see what we're dealing with.
0:08:57 > 0:09:05That is somebody who has dementia who wasn't a sports person.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06This is football. This is rugby.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09The important thing here is that, even when they've got dementia,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11there are very limited clues we have
0:09:11 > 0:09:16that allow us to say what kind of dementia they might have had.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17They're all a bit shrunken.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22They all show signs of damage in different ways.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26When we're talking about CTE or head injury-specific dementia,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30to be more accurate, physically, there isn't that much to see at all.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32It's all down a microscope.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35'It's not just my untrained eye.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38'We have to give this grey matter some colour, literally,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40'reveal the damage with dye.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:46We use special techniques to show up proteins in the brain.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50The stain we are using to show this abnormal protein up stains things brown.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Protein appearing in the brain is abnormal,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56and is associated with people with dementia
0:09:56 > 0:09:59in that somebody who has no dementia has none of this protein.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01You see that hole in the middle?
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- Yeah, that clear hole?- Yeah, that clear hole is a blood vessel.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07How we can spot it as CTE is that,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12the way that the protein clusters around blood vessels like that,
0:10:12 > 0:10:18it's so badly damaged that the structure of the brain has begun to disintegrate on it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21So, you think that is down to him playing football?
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Ah. Well.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27- It's...- The only thing we can say that links the cases that we've been seeing is
0:10:27 > 0:10:29exposure to brain injury.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33What we can't do is say exactly which part of the activity it was.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- Yeah.- The question people ask is, is it the heading? We can't say that.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Because how would you that it's not because he's heading the back of someone's head
0:10:41 > 0:10:43or he had three or four elbows during a game, or...?
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Which is why I'm always very cautious when people say,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49you know, try to say it's the heading in football,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52or it's the scrum in rugby, or...
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Football heading, we just don't have information on.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57We need to understand better what happens there,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- to be able to work out what might be happening later on.- OK.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05It's not that reassuring because, if the greater danger comes from
0:11:05 > 0:11:08more obvious shocks to the head, well,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10I may qualify on that score.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16It would be fair to say I was a pretty robust player who gave a few knocks and took a few.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22Even so, what I did was surely never like this.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25To say this leads to CTE or especially this,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29doesn't come as any sort of surprise.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32But can CTE be caused by something as painless as heading?
0:11:34 > 0:11:38I need to find out more about precisely what happens inside a head
0:11:38 > 0:11:39that meets a football.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Neuroscientist Dr Michael Grey has a special interest in sport concussion
0:11:46 > 0:11:49assessment and rehabilitation.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53To understand this, we have to start at the beginning.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Football is the only sport where the head is used as an instrument to hit
0:11:57 > 0:11:59the ball.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And so now we have to think about, what potential damage is there?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05How is the brain actually protected?
0:12:05 > 0:12:09The brain is fixed at one point here, right about where my finger is, in the brainstem here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And it sits within a fluid-filled bag,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and that bag is then inside a hard skull.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18When the ball comes in contact with the head,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20what we frequently see in illustrations
0:12:20 > 0:12:22is this little red bit here,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25which would suggest that the damage is all occurring down here.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27And, in fact, that's wrong.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32What we should pay attention to is the wobbling that goes on in the brain.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Another way to look at this is with this little jelly mould here.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38So, imagine this jelly mould here is a brain.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40And if I tap the side of the plate, like this,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42you can see the brain is wobbling.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47And that's effectively what's happening when the ball hits the head.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52What's happening inside the brain is that the nerves are getting stretched quite rapidly,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56and that's causing some structural damage to the nerves.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00The question then is, is this dangerous?
0:13:00 > 0:13:03We can get concussions from a single heading of the ball,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06if the force is strong enough,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and this will be seen in symptoms such as seeing stars,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13such as getting a headache after heading the ball.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16That will lead to concussion, and then we should be taking players off the pitch.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21That's different than the sub-concussive injury which is still creating some damage,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26but we don't actually know that anything has happened.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29So we don't see the stars, we don't get the headache,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31everything feels fine.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Each and every time we head the ball and we get this little wobbling,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37if there is a little bit of damage, and we don't let the brain recover,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39and we just keep back out there doing it again and again and again,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42that's probably not good for the brain.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46There is clearly much more work to be done.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Tiny changes within the brain are hard to detect.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54How extensive might this sub-concussive damage be?
0:13:54 > 0:13:58What's easier to measure is the overall scale of the problem.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00There's 850,000 people in our country
0:14:00 > 0:14:05that are suffering from dementia.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08And there are a lot of footballers in those numbers.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13But the reality is, and the sad thing, we don't know how many.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14And that can't be right.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I'm going to meet one of them.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Matt Tees played professional football in the '60s and '70s
0:14:20 > 0:14:26in Scotland and England. His strong point was heading the ball.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31Matt now suffers from dementia.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34- Hello.- Hello. How are you? - Fine.- I'm just admiring your gardens.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- Oh, thank you.- They're beautiful. Lovely to meet you. How are you?
0:14:37 > 0:14:40May and Matt, yes?
0:14:40 > 0:14:41- How are you?- I'm all right, yeah.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45I've just had six pins and a plate put in my wrist because I fell off my cycle.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48- Oh, crikey.- You've just had your golden wedding anniversary?
0:14:48 > 0:14:49- Yeah, yeah.- That's 50, is it?
0:14:49 > 0:14:51- 50 years, yes, yes.- Awesome.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53- 50 years, eh, Matt? - Do I look that old?!
0:14:53 > 0:14:56She's put up with you for 50 years, has she?
0:14:56 > 0:14:57Oh, thank you!
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Ha-ha.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02- So, life's good, life's hard? - Yes, life's very, very...
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- Good days and bad days. - Yes, I bet, yeah.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07- We take them as they come.- Yeah.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10We have a set routine that we must follow.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Like, what day is it?
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Well, you can see up there, the day's put up every day.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Matt's quiet. He doesn't talk.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21He now doesn't know that this is his house.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25- That must be so difficult for you. - That's heartbreaking for me, Alan.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28I think I've learned to be very strong because I've had to be.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31And it's one of the few times I could have cried.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36We're into the final stages which could be
0:15:36 > 0:15:40two years, ten years, nobody knows.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44You say that with ease, as in, you've totally accepted.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46- I have to.- Yeah.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48We have to live with that, Alan, don't we?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51And it is our way of life.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02It is Tees!
0:16:02 > 0:16:04So, tell me who you used to play for.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06- I played with Luton.- Luton, yeah.
0:16:06 > 0:16:12And then I left Luton, and I went to...
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- What's that one? - You played in Scotland.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- Ah, yes.- Then you came down to Grimsby.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Yeah.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And then you went to London, to Charlton, Charlton Athletic.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23- Yeah, yeah.- Oh, aye.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24Centre-half or centre forward?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- Centre forward.- Goal-scorer.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Oh, yeah.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33That is a typical photograph of Matt, up there, and heading that ball.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35That's some header.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42And there's the happy goal-scorer, Matt Tees.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Do you...think there is a link to football?
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I think there has to be.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49- I've got no doubt about it, Alan. - There has to be.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Without trying hard, I can name about eight people
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Matt's played football, in this area, with,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56that's had dementia or Alzheimer's.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- Yep.- Wow.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Yeah. So, that speaks volumes, in my opinion.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05My grandsons,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07two of them are really good footballers.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12And I went to watch Matt, the one in the blue shirt up there.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Honestly, I wanted... I felt sick.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Really? That bad?
0:17:16 > 0:17:20He plays sweeper, and he's jumping up, heading them like this.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And I'm just, "Oh!" And my heart was going like this.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25I couldn't believe my reaction.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Because I know what I know now.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- Come on in, guys, hello. Nice to meet you.- This is Joe.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Nice to meet you, how are you?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Hello.- Hello, nice to meet you.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Left hand, I'm afraid. Hi, guys, how are you?
0:17:39 > 0:17:42- You're the centre-half, and you're the right-back?- Yeah.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- So you both head the ball? - Yeah.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- Do you take after your grandad and head the ball?- Yes. Supposedly.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Yeah, do you?
0:17:49 > 0:17:52They never saw me when I was at my best.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Does it worry you boys, about heading the ball?
0:17:54 > 0:17:56No. Um...
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Do you think about it?
0:17:57 > 0:18:00It wouldn't, it doesn't, I don't really think about it.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03But, if there is a link...
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Like, I wouldn't stop doing it.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11And has Grandma told you what she thinks of football and heading, etc?
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Yeah, we've spoken about it before.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16- Does that worry you? - Um, a little bit.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17But, obviously, I don't think...
0:18:17 > 0:18:20It has changed a bit because, obviously,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22when Grandpa used to do it,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26if it was wet, the leather balls, they'd have been heavier.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- Whereas, nowadays, they're quite light.- Yeah.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Do you think our authorities
0:18:33 > 0:18:38would be running away from this problem?
0:18:40 > 0:18:45I've got two sons and three grandsons, and I want research.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49I don't want my daughter-in-laws and my grandchildren's partners
0:18:49 > 0:18:53and wives in the future to go through what we go through now.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57- Life's quite frightening for Matt now.- Yeah.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01What struck me about seeing the Tees family, it wasn't just Matt
0:19:01 > 0:19:07that's suffering, it's May that has to carry everything.
0:19:07 > 0:19:08And the grandkids.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It surprises me that they're so keen, and wanting,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and willing to go out and head balls,
0:19:15 > 0:19:20despite seeing their grandad in the way he is,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24and what their grandma has to deal with.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30Are Matt's grandchildren putting themselves in harm's way by heading the ball?
0:19:30 > 0:19:33I'm returning to Scotland to see if science has the answer.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I did science at school. I did a lot of things at school
0:19:36 > 0:19:38but other than football, I wasn't very good at school!
0:19:38 > 0:19:39HE CHUCKLES
0:19:40 > 0:19:43At the University of Stirling, studies are under way
0:19:43 > 0:19:45specific to heading a football.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47It's ground-breaking work in the UK,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51prompted by worries about old players.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57We'd started getting reports of concerns of the effects of long-term
0:19:57 > 0:19:59heading in football.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05- Yeah.- Erm, so we decided to set up a laboratory controlled trial,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10erm, where we mimicked the effects of heading a ball
0:20:10 > 0:20:16in a training drill, as in a cross kick from a corner into the goal.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20But importantly, what we did was we put together psychology
0:20:20 > 0:20:25- and physiology to look at the effects of this impact of the ball on the head.- Yeah.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Until quite recently, that was difficult, to,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- to look almost inside the brain... - Yeah.- ..at what's going on.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35And now we have that technology from basic science, we can apply that
0:20:35 > 0:20:40and, and really start to understand what is the direct impact.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42My guess would be it's not so much heading
0:20:42 > 0:20:46a football in a match, it's actually doing it in training.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- Heading the ball once is not going to give you brain damage.- Yeah.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51And we're not talking about brain damage.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- We're talking about the brain changes...- Yeah.- ..
0:20:54 > 0:20:57That are...short-lived but repeated over and over again, and yes,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02we are most worried about the practice drills.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04And how, how far, erm, have you come?
0:21:04 > 0:21:07What results have you had?
0:21:07 > 0:21:12The first time we tried it, erm, it was very clear, erm,
0:21:12 > 0:21:19that there are immediate brain changes after heading the ball.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22'The research they've been doing has focused on modern players but first,
0:21:22 > 0:21:28'we're going to examine the leather footballs of Jeff and Matt's era.'
0:21:28 > 0:21:31A lot of the thought is that, that the older balls were heavier, erm...
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- Had to have been, mustn't they?- But I'd be curious to find out what you
0:21:34 > 0:21:36think when you are heading the ball.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- OK.- Is that OK?- Absolutely.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40- Right. OK, ready?- Yeah.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- That actually feels lighter. - Good point.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49So when we weighed them, these, this was actually about 40g lighter
0:21:49 > 0:21:50- than this one.- Right.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- But the issue with these balls were the fact, when they got wet...- Yeah.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57..and all the stitching got soaked and everything else...
0:21:57 > 0:22:01- Yeah.- ..what we've done is actually soaked a ball in water for two hours
0:22:01 > 0:22:04and what we'll do, we'll weigh it, so...
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- OK.- Because we weighed it beforehand so just to see if the weight has changed.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15So it's gained quite a bit of weight.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- That was 390g, we weighed it. - Right.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And that's now 595g.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25So you can see there, there is an issue with, when the ball is wet,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27it would have weighed a lot more, no question.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Thankfully, I didn't have to head those big, leather, brown, ugly,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38wet balls, which were incredibly heavy when wet.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43It seems to me the guys in the '60s and '70s got a bit of a raw deal,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46having to head those things.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49I'm now going to do my bit to measure what happens
0:22:49 > 0:22:53when the ball I did play with meets my head.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56'19 players have been tested so far.
0:22:56 > 0:22:57'Meet number 20.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01'What precisely will be going on inside this head of mine
0:23:01 > 0:23:03'when it goes back to doing its old job?'
0:23:03 > 0:23:08We're going to do a battery of tests to look at the effects of heading a football.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Erm, first of all, we'll be doing a cognitive, erm, test.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18- What's a cognitive test?- A test of reaction time and of memory.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21What type of questions? I hope they're nice and easy ones!
0:23:21 > 0:23:25- Well, they start easy and they get more difficult.- OK.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Brilliant, so in the first test, you'll see six white boxes.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Erm, they'll open up in a random order.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35There's going to be a pattern inside one of the boxes to start off with.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39You have to remember where the pattern is.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44I'll be doing these tests before my headers and again afterwards,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47and we'll compare the results.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51- Oh, did I get it wrong? - You must have got one wrong.- Oh.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- I feel like I'm back at school now.- Yeah.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58OK, so this time, we're going to do the same thing but
0:23:58 > 0:24:01there's going to be three patterns, so it does get progressively more...
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Here's where it gets interesting.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Oh!
0:24:06 > 0:24:08SCREEN BLEEPS
0:24:09 > 0:24:10Got it wrong again, haven't I?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Wa-hey!
0:24:15 > 0:24:17- OK, so we're onto the second test.- OK.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19This one is a test of your spatial working memory.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Excellent.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- The next stage, we're going to be using this press pad.- OK.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34PAD BLEEPS
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- So am I a genius or what, then? - Yeah, I think you definitely are.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I thought we were going to be here all afternoon.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45- OK, Alan, what we're going to do now is look at your balance.- OK.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49We want to see if that changes as a result of doing the heading.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53If you want to stand on the balance board.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Try and keep the circle in the centre of the screen.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04OK, and step down.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Perfect. Very good.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10So that's you done with the balance thing, so now we'll move next door.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14What we're going to do now, a bit of a magnetic stimulation on the top of your brain...
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- Right.- ..to see how your muscle responds.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20So, if you want to give a couple of contractions.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- Right, so you see that activity there?- Yes.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28That's your brain instructing the muscle to contract,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31so it sends electrical impulses down to the muscle.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33So when you see these blue bits, here...
0:25:33 > 0:25:38- Yeah.- ..that's your electrical activity in the muscle.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40And we're going to be measuring what happens
0:25:40 > 0:25:44when we actually give a stimulus from the brain.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47This is called transcranial magnetic stimulation.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It works by placing this coil over your head.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52- So depending on where Tom stimulates...- Yeah.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56..you'll see a twitch in a different muscle.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00- Oh, right. We'll see a twitch, will we?- Yeah, we'll see a twitch.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04This measure looks at how easy the signal travels
0:26:04 > 0:26:07from your brain to the muscle.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11And push up.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12Halfway there.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18MACHINE CLICKS
0:26:21 > 0:26:22And relax.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- Good. How did that feel?- Fine.- OK.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28That's the "before" tests done.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32After I've headed the ball 20 times, we'll do the same tests again,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and the team will compare before and after.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Now, the bit in the middle.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39This is where it gets interesting.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42OK. Ready, and three, two, one...
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Perfect. That's one.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- Good header!- That's very good.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49See, now I'm meant to run away with my arm in the air.
0:26:50 > 0:26:51Celebrate!
0:26:53 > 0:26:55And three, two, one.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- Ah, I missed that one. - Couple more.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Good header!
0:27:00 > 0:27:01- Very good.- Last one.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08In three, two, one. Excellent.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11- Perfect.- Right, that's us. You've successfully completed the heading protocol, well done.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15- Cool.- We'll take the headband off you.- OK.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- Go straight through, eh? - Yeah, we'll go straight through.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20- Through to the lab.- Yeah.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21See what damage it's done.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25HE GRUNTS
0:27:28 > 0:27:29I'll have a red head, now.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32My hair used to cover it when I was playing!
0:27:32 > 0:27:37So what differences do you think you'll see, here, if any?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Some changes in the way your brain communicates with the muscles.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45- Maybe the impulses take a bit longer to get down or coming up a bit smaller.- OK.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Good. Keep it there. Nice and steady.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50That's really good.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56'I can't say I enjoyed the jolts going through my skull that much.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01'The balance test, the cognitive tests, and now we wait.'
0:28:01 > 0:28:06- OK, we've, we've found some interesting results.- Good or bad? - Well...
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I don't know how you found the cognitive testing.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09The results look quite similar to
0:28:09 > 0:28:11those that we were finding in the study itself.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15- You did better on the eight-item portion the first time around.- Yeah.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- And then you did worse in that the second time around.- Yeah.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20- We had no change in your balance. - Right.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24If anything, a slight improvement, which we also found in the study,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27probably slightly to do with a learning effect.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Magdalena will tell you a little bit about the brain changes we got.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33OK.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35So, remember that we stimulated your brain
0:28:35 > 0:28:38and we looked at the neural signal as it travelled from the brain
0:28:38 > 0:28:41- to the muscle it controls. - Yeah.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45And, erm, we do find in you what we also found in the study,
0:28:45 > 0:28:50- so the blue line is your first time, before heading the ball.- Right.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55And, you see the stem, that big peak at the start.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57- Yeah.- And then you see silence.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00- Yeah.- And then it starts scribbling again.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02And then you can see in the red graph underneath that.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06- After heading the ball, that that period is longer.- Right.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10That means there's higher levels of inhibition in, in the brain.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Right. Which means?
0:29:13 > 0:29:16So really what we are seeing here, after heading the ball,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20it's a disruption of the normal brain chemistry.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23If I came in here and looked at the graph, I would say
0:29:23 > 0:29:26it looked pretty similar but there is a difference, as in,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28it is a little bit slower, the second one,
0:29:28 > 0:29:30than it is the first one, which...
0:29:30 > 0:29:33But when, if you come to think of it,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36then heading a football at 20 or 25mph,
0:29:36 > 0:29:3920 balls like I did in quick succession,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43then you would think it has to do something.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45That arrow afterwards is slightly to the right.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47It takes longer to return to normal.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51And in an hour or two's time, we'd expect that to go back to normal.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54We don't know, because no research has been done,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56- what happens when you head the ball 50 times.- Yeah.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00- Or you do it again tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.- Right.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03So the cumulative effects, we don't know how they add up,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06and our suspicion is that if you start looking at that,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08you might find more evidence for
0:30:08 > 0:30:12changes in brain health as a function of heading the ball.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15'I'm leaving Stirling, grateful that I didn't play
0:30:15 > 0:30:17'with the old ball when it got wet,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20'but slightly worried that heading any kind of ball
0:30:20 > 0:30:21'causes changes to the brain.'
0:30:23 > 0:30:25There's still work to be done.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Football should be encouraging these universities to do as much research
0:30:29 > 0:30:32as possible. But like everything else,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35these universities need funding.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39There's enough money around nowadays in football.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Just not enough of it has been given to research.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46It's about time that we had more definitive answers.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50'I've met scientists who are concerned, like me,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52'but what about fellow footballers?
0:30:52 > 0:30:56'I'm meeting up with an ex-player who was also my first manager,
0:30:56 > 0:30:57'Chris Nicholl.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01'He taught me so much when it came to heading.'
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- Hey! How are you? Nice to see you.- I'm good.
0:31:04 > 0:31:05- Nice to see you. - Mate, I'm very good.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08- You haven't changed a bit. - All the better for seeing you.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12- And you, thanks.- Yeah. I've still got more hair than you.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14I know, it's terrible. See, that's what you've done to me!
0:31:14 > 0:31:17- COMMENTATOR:- Here's Nicholl. Oh, yes!
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Chris was 20 years a player before he went into management,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22a League Cup winner with Aston Villa.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27He joined Southampton as a centre- half, then rejoined them as manager.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29He gave me my big break in the game.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Do you remember those days at Southampton?
0:31:31 > 0:31:33- I do, yeah.- Do you, do you?
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Not... Like, I'm brain-damaged from heading balls
0:31:37 > 0:31:40- but you never headed enough, did you?- I did, I headed far too much.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44The reason why is that you had me in the gym most Tuesdays and Thursdays...
0:31:44 > 0:31:47- Was it?- ..in the gym at Southampton...- Yeah.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51..chucking balls in the air for me to constantly head balls.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53- Now my memory's terrible. - So it's my fault?!
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Do you genuinely believe that heading balls is...
0:31:56 > 0:31:59- Yes, I do.- ..a cause, partly to blame for it?
0:31:59 > 0:32:00Because my memory is in trouble.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03- Yeah.- I forget things.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05I forget regular things like,
0:32:05 > 0:32:11when you forget where your keys are, I mean, that, all people do that.
0:32:11 > 0:32:17But when you forget where you live, somebody says, "Where do you live?" and it won't...
0:32:17 > 0:32:19How long have, how long have you had that?
0:32:19 > 0:32:22How long have you felt like that? Can you remember? Do you know?
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Well, the last, the last... Four, five years.
0:32:25 > 0:32:26- Have you, yeah?- Something like that.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30- And it's getting worse, you think, yeah?- Yeah. It is definitely getting worse.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32- Have you been to the doctors? - No.- To...?
0:32:32 > 0:32:34- No.- Why?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Because I wouldn't change anything, anyway.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41- But...- They wouldn't change the way...- They could help you. - Well... Maybe, yeah.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45- So you...? - But I do forget things.- Mm.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48- When somebody says, "Where do you live", and you've forgotten that... - Yeah, yeah.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52Like that, that... Is a bit of a message.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Does it worry you, how you are?
0:32:54 > 0:32:56- It bothers me, yeah. - Does it?- It does bother me.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59But doesn't worry you enough to go to a doctor?
0:32:59 > 0:33:01No. No. I still wouldn't change it.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04And stop being big and brave and bravado.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06- No, no.- Does it not worry you it can get worse?
0:33:06 > 0:33:10I know I'm getting worse, because...
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Things like... Oh, where have I put that knife
0:33:13 > 0:33:16or where have I put my toast or...
0:33:16 > 0:33:18Yeah, yeah. ..It goes!
0:33:18 > 0:33:19CROWD CHEERS
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Even knowing that it does damage your brain, I wouldn't change...
0:33:24 > 0:33:26- You'd still do it. - I would not change a thing
0:33:26 > 0:33:30because it was my job. You go and head it.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- But you would also be...- I would worry if you wanted to change the way you did...
0:33:33 > 0:33:37- I know.- Because I was part of that.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41My immediate reaction is, his attitude is
0:33:41 > 0:33:44so typical of football, of footballers.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Erm, doesn't want help,
0:33:47 > 0:33:52doesn't want to admit that help could be, I think,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56a huge advantage to him, which is very concerning, very worrying.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Football's reluctance to do anything was changed
0:34:00 > 0:34:02when brain damage was addressed elsewhere,
0:34:02 > 0:34:06namely in American football.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11And once the connection was made between brain trauma and CTE,
0:34:11 > 0:34:13the National Football League moved quickly to set up
0:34:13 > 0:34:17a compensation fund worth three-quarters of a billion dollars.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21Across the United States and across all sports,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24protecting the head is fully on the agenda.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26But on Monday, the US Soccer Federation took the bold step
0:34:26 > 0:34:28of eliminating heading from youth soccer
0:34:28 > 0:34:32in an effort to reduce the number of concussions.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Per the new rules, children ten and under will be banned from heading
0:34:35 > 0:34:37the ball during any official session.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39The banning of heading the ball in the United States is
0:34:39 > 0:34:43really more about concussion, rather than heading the ball over and over.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47It's really about when these kids go up for a challenge,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50their heads come in contact with other heads,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53or they hit an arm or they fall on the floor, erm, and that,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57that creates more significant damage in the brain.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02Young girls seem to get concussion more frequently than young boys
0:35:02 > 0:35:05so we don't really know why that is. We need to understand that.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10Now, the problem is, we don't have conclusive scientific evidence
0:35:10 > 0:35:16to suggest that heading the ball in young children
0:35:16 > 0:35:19is going to lead to neurodegeneration later in life.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23We know for example that children have large heads and small necks,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26so there's more wobbling of the brain inside the skull,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30therefore that can lead to more damage compared with an adult.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34The other issue that we have is that children's brains are still
0:35:34 > 0:35:37developing and they don't have the same neural protection
0:35:37 > 0:35:38as does an adult.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42We don't have conclusive evidence that that is then leading to
0:35:42 > 0:35:47problems later in life or problems in school.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51I tend to agree with the idea that very young children really shouldn't be heading the ball.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54I think we have sufficient evidence that certainly,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57from my point of view, I wouldn't want my children, erm, heading...
0:35:57 > 0:36:01You know, playing on a team where they are heading the ball,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05day in and day out. I don't think it's worth the risk.
0:36:05 > 0:36:11'Imagine if the game without heading became the new football for everyone at every level.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13'An old England team-mate of mine went into coaching.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15'Les Ferdinand, first with Tottenham Hotspur,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18'now Director of Football at Queens Park Rangers.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23'He is aware of the debate and his responsibility for keeping his young footballers safe.'
0:36:23 > 0:36:26'It was very different when he first started heading the ball.'
0:36:26 > 0:36:28One of the coaches was having a laugh and saying,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31"Oh, it's all right, the young boys don't head balls",
0:36:31 > 0:36:33- so I made it my mission to be able to head balls.- Yeah.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37From doing all that, it was a major concern for me, you know,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39when I started hearing all this.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Did you ask the young boys at Tottenham
0:36:43 > 0:36:46when you were a coach there, or tell them that they had to
0:36:46 > 0:36:49improve their heading, they had to do heading practices?
0:36:49 > 0:36:52I didn't tell them. They came to me and wanted to improve it.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54- Right, OK.- Because it was kind of like one of my fortes.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56- Yeah.- So I carried on, you know,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00teaching people that wanted to learn the way that I learned.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Because you're aware now of the issue and the subject,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08would you ever consider changing training techniques
0:37:08 > 0:37:13for the young boys that are coming through the system here at QPR?
0:37:13 > 0:37:17I think what I'd do is, you know, I'd want to see more research.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20I would speak to the coaches and we will have this discussion about what
0:37:20 > 0:37:22we do with the players because, you know, in America
0:37:22 > 0:37:25they've banned it so everyone's talking about it and that's,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27that's gathering momentum.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30And whether we need to work the technique with soft balls.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33- Yeah.- Just until we can gather some more information,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36to know if this is good for football or not.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41'Changes in training, changes on the field.'
0:37:41 > 0:37:44As he was most of the game, he was first to the corner.
0:37:44 > 0:37:45He wanted it more than they did.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48'Long ball football - the English game for so many years,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50'of firing the ball out of the defence,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52'high towards a big man up front,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54'has given way to a more subtle game,
0:37:54 > 0:37:59'a game played with the ball kept on the grass, played to the feet.'
0:37:59 > 0:38:01Fabulous football.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04'Expert headers of the ball have had to adapt.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07'John Terry, for example, five times a Premier League champion
0:38:07 > 0:38:10'with Chelsea, still playing at Aston Villa.'
0:38:11 > 0:38:15So you definitely think there, you don't head the ball now as much,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17one, in training, or two, in a game, as you did years ago?
0:38:17 > 0:38:21Yeah, in training, it's probably, probably zero, actually,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24- because the ball's probably 99% on the floor.- Right.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26I think the game's evolved over the years as well.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28When I first come on the scene playing,
0:38:28 > 0:38:31- the goalkeeper would kick it and I'd try and head it as far as I could back up the field.- Right.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35I think the distance side of it has kind of gone out of the game a little bit.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37With the managers that you had over the years,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40has there been a different feeling towards heading,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43regarding foreign coaches, or the English coaches?
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Well, I think the English coaches, definitely, kind of, my early days,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48YTS days, first-year pros, that kind of thing,
0:38:48 > 0:38:55was really kind of specified on, you know, doing that in training, training drills.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57I think as the foreign coaches come in, it was a case of,
0:38:57 > 0:38:59"Right, can you chest it? Can you bring it down?"
0:38:59 > 0:39:01But I'm seeing hardly anything at all in training.
0:39:01 > 0:39:02Yeah.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Unless you're doing the shooting exercise and you might, you know, score.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Compared to when you first started training, many years ago.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Yeah, 100%. And that's, that's been the case for the last, probably six, seven years for me,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15so I think as the game is kind of getting better and we're learning,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18- you know, it's going to help in the future anyway.- Good.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Would there ever be a time that you said to your kids,
0:39:21 > 0:39:23- "No, you're not allowed to head the ball?"- No.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24Because you have a boy and a girl.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Yeah, probably the opposite, actually.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28My girl plays at Chelsea and actually,
0:39:28 > 0:39:29I'm encouraging her to go and attack it.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Because more so in girls' football, they don't really head the ball.
0:39:33 > 0:39:34And a kind of corner comes in,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and everyone kind of shies away from it a little bit,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40and I'm trying to encourage my girl that, rather than that ball hit you
0:39:40 > 0:39:42and kind of probably do some damage,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45if you go and attack it and meet the ball, the contact's better.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47You know, no point heading it on...
0:39:47 > 0:39:49- The technique. - Yeah, there is a technique to it.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53And if you can do that in the right way you'll prevent hopefully anything in the future.
0:39:53 > 0:39:54Mm-hm, yeah.
0:39:54 > 0:40:00- The researchers actually say that girls are more at risk than boys or men.- Yeah.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Does that... Will that change your feeling towards it?
0:40:03 > 0:40:07Listen, it's my little girl. She's my world, you know?
0:40:07 > 0:40:11I think her playing and seeing her play - she loves football...
0:40:11 > 0:40:15No, I would still encourage her to go and attack it.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17I think until there's real evidence to show that
0:40:17 > 0:40:19players in the future are really suffering,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23all we can actually pinpoint it to, to specifically heading the ball...
0:40:23 > 0:40:25But as a parent, as my kids,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I wouldn't discourage them to go and head the ball.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Football, slow to change without more evidence,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34but changing all the same.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36There are protocols in place when it comes to concussion
0:40:36 > 0:40:39which isn't the same thing as the repeated action of heading,
0:40:39 > 0:40:43but at least shows greater respect for the head,
0:40:43 > 0:40:47which wasn't always the case in my day.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50There's pictures out there with me, in a bandage.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53There's blood teeming down my face - where I've gone off,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56I'd had stitches, they've put a bandage on.
0:40:56 > 0:40:57I've gone and headed another ball,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59the stitches have come out
0:40:59 > 0:41:02and you can visibly see the blood pouring down my face,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06which is what we did then.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09It's what was expected of us.
0:41:09 > 0:41:10You run off the pitch,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13you got stitched up, and you had to go back on again.
0:41:13 > 0:41:14'I've taken the big blows,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18'and I played at a time when heading was still very fashionable.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22'I've taken all those little impacts that may add up to something.
0:41:22 > 0:41:28'I seem to qualify on all counts to ask the question, "Am I in danger?"
0:41:28 > 0:41:31'I think the time has come to put myself to the big test,
0:41:31 > 0:41:36'an MRI scan at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40'What damage from all that heading will be revealed?'
0:41:40 > 0:41:42I'm a bit nervous, actually, now.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Oh, you shouldn't be nervous.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49So just take a seat, Alan, and I'll get one of the radiographers
0:41:49 > 0:41:54to go through the MRI check list with you. Okey doke. OK.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57I'm a bit nervous, actually. They've just given me the words,
0:41:57 > 0:42:02as in to say, "You do know that if we find something, then..."
0:42:02 > 0:42:05I said, "Well, if you do, it's best that you tell me,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07"so we can work on something."
0:42:08 > 0:42:12So surgery in your lifetime, you've had tendon repair on your left knee twice.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14- Yeah.- ACL repair.- Yeah.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- Hernias, erm, fractured, dislocated your ankle.- Yep.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Is that the only things you've had?
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Only things?! That's enough!
0:42:22 > 0:42:25- Nothing else has slipped your mind? - That's it, yeah.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Nice gear, eh?
0:42:28 > 0:42:29THEY LAUGH
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I'm going to do a nice, sort of, structural scan of your brain,
0:42:37 > 0:42:38so that'll take about five minutes.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41And then we're going to do what we call a spectroscopy scan,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45so that actually gives us a nice profile of some of the chemicals in your brain.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47- Right.- And if there's any problems
0:42:47 > 0:42:50then we can discuss that further, and inform your clinician.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Have you got any concerns or questions?
0:42:52 > 0:42:53No, I think I'm all right.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00- That's the scanner. - Yep.- So, Dr McLean will...
0:43:00 > 0:43:03MACHINE BLEEPING OBSCURES SPEECH
0:43:04 > 0:43:05OK.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13How are you doing, Alan? Can you hear me OK?
0:43:13 > 0:43:15- Yeah.- OK, just going to get started - nice and still.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18There's going to be some loud noise coming up.
0:43:20 > 0:43:21PIERCING BLEEP
0:43:25 > 0:43:28So we're acquiring a scan at the minute, and
0:43:28 > 0:43:33once we've acquired that we'll plan the spectroscopy scan.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38That's the scan that looks at the chemicals in Alan's brain.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41And again we'll be looking to see that that's normal.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46- You've found my brain, then? - Absolutely. It's all right.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49I don't like the way you're all being a bit apprehensive here.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52- No, we're fine. - Absolutely fine - don't worry.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57So a nice way I think about the brain is you've got your white matter,
0:43:57 > 0:43:59which is a bit like all the connections,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02so you see that in light grey here, and then there's the grey matter
0:44:02 > 0:44:04which is the cortex, so the bit on the outside.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06The white matter's a bit like your connections,
0:44:06 > 0:44:09with the grey matter, the bit that's doing the thinking, the processing.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Your brain's sitting in this sort of protective fluid,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14so that's what... Some people think you're looking into holes in
0:44:14 > 0:44:16the image, thinking there's holes in your brain,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19but it's perfectly normal to have those holes.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21We did notice you had a little artefact, we think,
0:44:21 > 0:44:23just on the surface of your brain.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25It might be just from a little bit of metal, maybe.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28- Have I?- Potentially, yeah. - Oh. Interesting.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32We were able to look at an area of your brain
0:44:32 > 0:44:35and look at the sort of chemical profile for that area,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38so this looks normal to me for that area of the brain.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42That's reassuring. I'll take that as good news.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46I've got some metal in my head!
0:44:46 > 0:44:50'Just an old staple to patch me up after a clash of heads.'
0:44:50 > 0:44:52I was a little bit nervous when I was going in there,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56but having the news that everything is fine and is normal,
0:44:56 > 0:44:58and the question I asked him was,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01"If you didn't know who I was or if I'd played football for 20 years
0:45:01 > 0:45:06"then would you look at that brain and say it was perfectly normal?"
0:45:06 > 0:45:09The answer came back and he said it was perfectly normal and all fine.
0:45:09 > 0:45:10So very good news.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15'In general, I've come through it pretty well.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18'I'm as relieved as an old pro can be, I suppose.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21'Nothing to be worried about - for the moment.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25'But footballers seem particularly prone to early-onset dementia.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27'CTE stalks us.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30'I can't shake off the idea of it,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32'and the struggle that may lie ahead.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38'John Stiles knows all about that. He is the son of Nobby,
0:45:38 > 0:45:41'Man United legend and the cheeky face of a golden age.
0:45:41 > 0:45:47'Nobby is one of the 1966 World Cup heroes struck down by dementia.'
0:45:47 > 0:45:48- How's your dad?- Poorly.
0:45:48 > 0:45:54- Is he?- Yeah, Alan, he's got advanced dementia, so he's now in a home.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56It's just terrible to watch the person that you love,
0:45:56 > 0:46:00especially somebody as lively and as nice a person as my dad,
0:46:00 > 0:46:02just disappear, really.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04LAUGHTER
0:46:05 > 0:46:08Do you hold the game responsible?
0:46:08 > 0:46:12I'm utterly convinced that heading the ball in training...
0:46:14 > 0:46:18..is, I believe it's responsible, but that's only my opinion.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22Are you angry, and if so what are you angry about?
0:46:22 > 0:46:24What I'm really angry about, Alan,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27is that it's been known for a long time now,
0:46:27 > 0:46:29since Jeff Astle's diagnosis,
0:46:29 > 0:46:33a coroner actually said heading the ball has contributed to killing him.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37- What I am angry about is, in that time, nothing's been done.- Yeah.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39And dementia is treated as a different...
0:46:39 > 0:46:41It's not treated as a disease.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44It's treated like old-age, so you've got to cover the costs yourself.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48And all these families, as well as watching their loved one disappear,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52have got no help, and most of them have had to sell their homes to pay for the care.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Now if that's been caused by heading the ball, that's a disgrace.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Mm. What do you feel that needs to be done?
0:46:59 > 0:47:02I think, as they've done in America - they've banned it for under 11s -
0:47:02 > 0:47:04I think they should do that now.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Banning heading now for kids?
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Well, I believe so.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13In the matches, you head the ball maybe - what, three, four times, maybe?
0:47:13 > 0:47:16But it's the training. It's the training that's the problem.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20And I think coaches shouldn't be throwing missiles at kids' heads
0:47:20 > 0:47:22for them to head it back.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26Until we know, they should absolutely stop kids heading balls.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30My oldest son now is 33. He tried to be a footballer.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36And I don't feel a guilt, as such, but if my boy ends up developing problems,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40that could've been prevented, and that's a disgrace.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44- Yeah, that has to be a concern and a worry for you.- Yeah.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47And I'm almost complicit in that.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50I can see why football is reluctant to change its rules.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53No heading would be like cricket without fast bowling,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56or rugby banning tackling,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59but there's also the question of the duty of care.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04Players who really aren't that old going into care homes to die.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Who can help?
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Well, there's the Professional Footballers' Association,
0:48:08 > 0:48:11the PFA, the players' union.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13And there's the Football Association, the FA,
0:48:13 > 0:48:15the sport's governing body.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Of course, they need the facts first.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Facts that come from research - scientific research.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27Dawn Astle has campaigned for answers from the authorities
0:48:27 > 0:48:29since her dad's death 15 years ago.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33'But are they out there looking for them?'
0:48:33 > 0:48:36The PFA and the FA started a study back in 2001,
0:48:36 > 0:48:39which was actually before Dad died, but
0:48:40 > 0:48:43I had an e-mail off the FA to say, unfortunately, you know,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46it didn't reach its conclusions because they've done it on 30-odd
0:48:46 > 0:48:48youngsters in the game and none of them made it as pros
0:48:48 > 0:48:50so they fell away, so it only lasted a few years.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56So that was so bitterly, bitterly disappointing.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58So it's as if it collapsed, they thought we'd gone away,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01and they just left it - and that's wrong.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06I know you have had meetings that you have asked questions,
0:49:06 > 0:49:10and they have promised you they would send questions to Fifa,
0:49:10 > 0:49:12and that was two or three years ago,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15and you're still waiting for answers. Is that correct?
0:49:15 > 0:49:17Football doesn't seem to want to know.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21And it SHOULD want to know. It's not just about Dad now.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24It's about all these former footballers and their families,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27who have come forward, very bravely.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30I said, "It's not just about the past now.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31"It's about football's future."
0:49:31 > 0:49:33You know, we've got to protect, you know,
0:49:33 > 0:49:38kids into the game, you know, football's future.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41The PFA, they only exist for player welfare.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44They should be screaming from the rooftops for these players.
0:49:44 > 0:49:48This is killing their players. This should be their priority.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51'The surprising thing for me is, actually, no-one has stood up
0:49:51 > 0:49:53'and said, "You know what,
0:49:53 > 0:49:57'"we got this one wrong - we should have looked at it more."'
0:49:57 > 0:49:59No-one's said, "Yeah, we've messed up here.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04"We had a chance to do something 15 years ago, and we haven't."
0:50:04 > 0:50:06'What is being done, or what isn't being done?
0:50:06 > 0:50:08'Gordon Taylor has been chief executive of
0:50:08 > 0:50:11'the players' union, the PFA, for 36 years.
0:50:11 > 0:50:18'Looking after players past and present is what he does.'
0:50:18 > 0:50:20You've got 50,000 members.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25- Do we know how many of those have dementia?- No, I don't.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27Is that difficult to do? Can we not...
0:50:27 > 0:50:28Is that not an easy thing to do?
0:50:28 > 0:50:30At the moment, with modern technology,
0:50:30 > 0:50:35we're looking to try to establish a really effective database.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40There's an anger from my side, because over the last 12 months,
0:50:40 > 0:50:46having sat down with families who have lost loved ones,
0:50:46 > 0:50:50there's a lot of them feel as if they've been left on their own.
0:50:50 > 0:50:56I think it's the PFA's job to do all we can to look, to provide support.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00We have said money is going to be put towards research,
0:51:00 > 0:51:06and also towards respite care for the more and more former players who need help.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09I went up and spoke to Willie Stewart, and I said to him,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12"What is it you need?" And he said, "Well, we need research."
0:51:12 > 0:51:17- Mm.- And, well, I'm thinking, well, hang on a minute, we started...
0:51:17 > 0:51:20Remember here we started the research in 2002.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24It's now 2017, and it seems as if we're no further forward.
0:51:24 > 0:51:25Well, it's...
0:51:25 > 0:51:28Because it seems as if the same questions are still being asked.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31They are. The issue of the lower level but continuous problems,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35with heading a ball, and whether it will have long-term effects,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37is something we are looking to establish -
0:51:37 > 0:51:39either a definitive link, or not at all.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41And from that point of view,
0:51:41 > 0:51:45the first research we've done was inconclusive,
0:51:45 > 0:51:49but we are prepared to commit the money to research.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52Do you think it's being swept under the carpet,
0:51:52 > 0:51:57because of people who've been scared to face lawsuits?
0:51:57 > 0:52:02Well, it has been put to me that maybe the clubs are very wary
0:52:02 > 0:52:05because there may be compensation. And I said, well, you know,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08you can only be negligent if you know for certain
0:52:08 > 0:52:10that there is this link.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13But what I am saying is football has a duty to see
0:52:13 > 0:52:15- if there is a causal link... - Yeah.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17..because if there is,
0:52:17 > 0:52:22it could significantly increase the problems in later life.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26Then we'd need to look at the rules of the game, and address it.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30I have been disappointed with Fifa,
0:52:30 > 0:52:32but as the governing body they have not taken the lead,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35or any of the confederations.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38But it's fair to say the FA have now agreed
0:52:38 > 0:52:40that we will do this together.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45I'm not exactly bowled over by the rush to investigate.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Nobody in charge seems to want to know the scale of the problem,
0:52:49 > 0:52:50if there is one.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54'Football is played everywhere.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58'The game is run by the Football Association, the FA.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00'I've come to their home at St George's Park
0:53:00 > 0:53:02'to see their new medical performance director,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06'Charlotte Cowie.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11'One of Charlotte's first tasks has been to commission research into this issue.'
0:53:11 > 0:53:15Do you know how many footballers have got dementia?
0:53:15 > 0:53:18I think that, in a nutshell, is the question that we are asking.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21And it sounds quite simple. You just go to a load of footballers,
0:53:21 > 0:53:24and say, you know, check if they've got dementia
0:53:24 > 0:53:25and then you've got your answer.
0:53:25 > 0:53:30What I've probably learned is to run a research project where you
0:53:30 > 0:53:34get some answers that are reliable. It's more complicated than that.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38We've used a panel of experts in concussion and in research
0:53:38 > 0:53:41to try and help us formulate a study
0:53:41 > 0:53:44that gives us an answer as quickly as possible,
0:53:44 > 0:53:50- if we can do, but more importantly gives us some results that are really reliable.- Yeah.
0:53:50 > 0:53:51Tell us a little bit about that research.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53What is it you're actually doing?
0:53:53 > 0:53:57What we'd like to do is make it potentially a shorter study
0:53:57 > 0:54:00by looking back at ex-professional footballers,
0:54:00 > 0:54:03and working out whether they have health problems, including dementia.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05We'll also look at their general health.
0:54:05 > 0:54:11The most important thing is, is dementia more common in footballers than in the normal population?
0:54:11 > 0:54:14That's the question that Dawn Astle and everyone else wants to know -
0:54:14 > 0:54:16- "Is it a problem?"- Mm.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19And I think one of the things that we need to try and establish is
0:54:19 > 0:54:24that if there is a link to football and dementia in some players,
0:54:24 > 0:54:26if that is related to concussion.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29And if that is the risk, rather than heading,
0:54:29 > 0:54:31then we need to know that as well.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35- They've banned heading in America for under-11s.- Yeah.
0:54:35 > 0:54:36What's your feeling on that?
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Do you think we should do that in this country?
0:54:39 > 0:54:42I think that is open for review at any point.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45If the evidence is emerging - even early evidence -
0:54:45 > 0:54:49then I think that's something that we always have to bear in mind,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52but at the moment the advice that we are collecting from people who are
0:54:52 > 0:54:56working in that area is that they don't feel that
0:54:56 > 0:54:59that's the most logical step to take.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02There is a lot of anger out there from people who have suffered,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05and the families that are now suffering.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09- Can you understand why? - Yeah, massively.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13I met with the Astle family. Talking to Dawn about
0:55:13 > 0:55:15what she and her family went through,
0:55:15 > 0:55:20watching Jeff in this sort of, the last stages of a really horrific disease...
0:55:20 > 0:55:21- Yeah.- Erm...
0:55:22 > 0:55:25..probably affected me emotionally a lot, actually,
0:55:25 > 0:55:29- and so I feel very personally invested in trying to see this through and make it happen.- Mm.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33And I think we're in a good place now but I do understand there's been
0:55:33 > 0:55:36a lot of frustration and, you know, whatever the answers are,
0:55:36 > 0:55:38a lot of heartache.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43It seems as if people are running away from this problem. Do you get that feeling?
0:55:43 > 0:55:45Well, I feel...
0:55:45 > 0:55:47That's the one thing that I can say with confidence.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49I feel we're running towards this problem at the moment.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53- I do feel like...- But that hasn't been the case in the past.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56I think the FA did make a conscious decision not to wait for Fifa or
0:55:56 > 0:56:00Uefa, and I think that was the right decision and they've done the right
0:56:00 > 0:56:04thing on that, but it was probably a difficult decision to make.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06As the FA are custodians of the game,
0:56:06 > 0:56:11do you feel as if apologies are owed to the families that have suffered,
0:56:11 > 0:56:12and still don't have any answers?
0:56:12 > 0:56:13Erm...
0:56:14 > 0:56:19I think...certainly we need to consider those people,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and then I think we need to just...
0:56:22 > 0:56:25I think the FA just needs to get this done. That's what I would say.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32'The research has at last been commissioned,
0:56:32 > 0:56:34'but even before we have new findings
0:56:34 > 0:56:37'football must look after old players with dementia,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40'put an end to this sense that once you're done with playing
0:56:40 > 0:56:42'you can be put on the scrapheap.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47'Life can be confusing and scary for people with dementia,
0:56:47 > 0:56:51'but there are support groups for those who are living with it.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55'One such group offering support to families is Sporting Memories.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58'Former centre forward Matt Tees has invited me along to his local group
0:56:58 > 0:57:01'at Waltham Library in Grimsby.'
0:57:01 > 0:57:03CHEERY HUBBUB
0:57:03 > 0:57:06- Hello, everyone!- Have a seat, Alan. - Thank you.- Welcome.
0:57:06 > 0:57:07- Is this my seat?- Yes.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10By pure coincidence, we've just been doing an Alan Shearer quiz.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13- Oh, good.- So maybe you could answer the last question for us.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15How many career goals did Alan have to his name
0:57:15 > 0:57:18by the end of the '97-'98 season?
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Can there not be an easier one for me?!
0:57:23 > 0:57:25Career goals, '97-'98...
0:57:25 > 0:57:28'Sporting Memories is a charity which works with elderly people
0:57:28 > 0:57:33'who might struggle with dementia, depression or loneliness.'
0:57:33 > 0:57:36'They use sport as a way of bringing people together.'
0:57:38 > 0:57:40We know that people need to remain connected.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44That's to their family, to their friends, to their communities,
0:57:44 > 0:57:45and to their passions and interests.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50And sport is a huge common factor in terms of getting people together.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52- ALL:- Yeah!
0:57:53 > 0:57:57But we also know that to age well we need to learn new things,
0:57:57 > 0:57:58and the Sporting Memories group,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00you can learn so many different new things
0:58:00 > 0:58:04around the history and heritage of sport and people's stories.
0:58:04 > 0:58:06Denis Law!
0:58:07 > 0:58:10We have to stress - it's not a dementia focus group.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12- Not everybody has dementia, but... - Majority?- No.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14- Minority.- Right, OK.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16But it's about mixing people up,
0:58:16 > 0:58:19- it's about inclusion, integration. - And they love it.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22- Everybody has a fantastic time. - Yeah, they love it, yeah.
0:58:22 > 0:58:23'Sporting Memories have worked with
0:58:23 > 0:58:26'the Professional Footballers' Association to produce a leaflet
0:58:26 > 0:58:28'that can be given to former players
0:58:28 > 0:58:31'who've been diagnosed with dementia.'
0:58:31 > 0:58:34The guide has been written to give some practical advice
0:58:34 > 0:58:37to people who have got that diagnosis.
0:58:37 > 0:58:38And these are ready now?
0:58:38 > 0:58:40They're just at the designers,
0:58:40 > 0:58:42and the PFA will be making them available to members.
0:58:42 > 0:58:46- Good. That's a start, then. - Yeah.
0:58:47 > 0:58:51'This story is about our people, footballing people,
0:58:51 > 0:58:55'who need the custodians of the game to embrace and fund science
0:58:55 > 0:58:58'to understand the effects of heading.'
0:58:58 > 0:59:01The researchers are out there, because I've met them.
0:59:01 > 0:59:03They want to do it, but they need funding.
0:59:03 > 0:59:06But more importantly, they need raw materials
0:59:06 > 0:59:09to conduct this research - brains.
0:59:09 > 0:59:12Not just footballing brains or diseased brains,
0:59:12 > 0:59:15but healthy brains from all walks of life.
0:59:15 > 0:59:20Heading is an integral part of our game.
0:59:20 > 0:59:24Coaches need educating to be aware of the dangers of the game,
0:59:24 > 0:59:27but don't change the rules as yet.
0:59:27 > 0:59:31I wouldn't ban heading, because there isn't enough evidence -
0:59:31 > 0:59:32and I don't say that lightly.
0:59:32 > 0:59:35I see thousands and thousands of kids, on an evening or a weekend,
0:59:35 > 0:59:39playing football, and I don't want that to change.
0:59:39 > 0:59:41Let science do its work.
0:59:41 > 0:59:43Technologies are emerging to provide evidence
0:59:43 > 0:59:45so that we can make educated decisions
0:59:45 > 0:59:49about how we take our game forward.
0:59:49 > 0:59:52It's a tough game, it's a brilliant game.
0:59:52 > 0:59:54it's known as our beautiful game.
0:59:54 > 0:59:57But let's make sure it's not a killer game.