Dementia in football: Don’t be put off playing the game, says Alzheimer’s charity

Alzheimer's Research UK have called for a worldwide increase in funding further understanding of the disease, but insisted people should not be put off playing football after the release of Monday's landmark study.

The FA and the PFA commissioned a study which found ex-professional male players were three-and-a-half times more likely to die from dementia than members of the public in the same age range.

The study was unable to establish a clear cause for the increased risk amid concerns over concussion or excessive heading of the ball — particularly old footballs given it concentrated on just under 8,000 players born in Scotland between 1900 and 1976 — with all parties claiming further research is required.

And Dr Carol Routledge, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The first thing that was needed was to show there was genuinely an increased risk of dementia for former professional footballers. For me, we kind of start here. Alzheimer’s Research UK would like to globally call for an increase in funding which the FA and PFA are committed to.

“Dementia is really complex, caused by a number of different diseases, and there are a number of different risk factors: genetic, lifestyle and health. One of the health benefits of football is the exercise. The last thing we would want to do is to propose that people don’t go out, kick the ball around in the park.”