The Scottish doctor whose groundbreaking research established a link between football and dementia has welcomed a decision to limit headers in the game.
Professional footballers in Scotland are to be banned from heading the ball in training the day before and the day after a game.
Clubs are also being told to limit exercises that involve repetitive heading to one session per week.
The new Scottish Football Association (SFA) guidelines come three years after Universityof Glasgow research showed former footballers had a three-fold risk of neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and were five times at risk of Alzheimer's Disease.
Further research established that risk was dependent on the position played with defenders most likely to be affected, who are more likely to head footballs.
Dr Willie Stewart, the consultant neuropathologist who led the study said: “The strength of evidence from the FIELD Study on neurodegenerative disease risk for former professional footballers is overwhelming.
"I am pleased to see the Scottish Football Association have taken further steps to reduce players’ risk.”
The SFA already has guidelines in place limiting heading in youth football, with a ban on headers in training for the under-12 age group. Prof Stewart has said he would like this to be extended to under 16s.
Scotland was also the first country in the world to have a single set of concussion guidelines for all sports, with the "If in doubt, sit them out" campaign.
The new guidelines are being introduced after consultation with the 50 clubs across the professional men's and women's game in Scotland and following an SFA survey of clubs to gauge heading trends.
Clubs are also being told to monitor heading activity in training with the aim of reducing the overall burden of contact.
Dr John MacLean, the SFA doctor who was also involved in the 2019 field study said "While the research continues to develop, what we already know about heading and its effects on the brain suggests that there is measurable memory impairment lasting 24-48 hours following a series of headers, and that brain-related proteins can be detected in blood samples for a short time after heading," he said.
"Brain scan changes have also been reported in footballers that may be linked to heading.
"Therefore, the goal is to reduce any potential cumulative effect of heading by reducing the overall exposure to heading in training."
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