WOMEN footballers are being urged to take part in a study to determine if they are at a higher risk of getting dementia than male players.
And its lead scientist believes female athletes heading the ball could be in greater danger of developing the condition diagnosed in five of 1966 World Cup winners.
University of East Anglia scientists are studying the effect heading a football has on female playersCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Retired Crystal Palace ace Mark Bright and ex-Norwich City players are among the former professionals involved in the SCORES Project run by the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Dr Michael Grey, the study’s chief researcher, revealed his team are desperate to see more women players over the age of 40 to volunteer to take part.
Their call-out comes less than a month after the death of Manchester United and England hero Nobby Stiles who lived with dementia in his later years.
Professional female players who are 40 are being encouraged to take part in research Credit: Getty Images – Getty
And it follows University of Glasgow research, funded by the FA, which revealed that retired male players are five times more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s compared to the average person.
Dr Grey told SunSport three amateur women footballers are currently involved in the study, with netballers, swimmers, tennis and badminton players making up the rest of the 37 sportswomen taking part.
And Sky Sports News reports the project is yet to include a single former professional female player.
Dr Grey said: “We know very little about how this affects female players, but we think female players are at even greater risk of developing sport-related dementia than male players.
“We have already signed up more than 35 professional male players but we have very few women footballers in the study so far.
“We know that there is greater risk of dementia in former professional footballers, and we think this is related to repetitive heading of the ball.
“We know there are physical and physiological differences between male and female players and this could be important when it comes to the impact of repeatedly heading the ball.
“But we don’t fully understand the impact these differences could have, so we are encouraging former amateur and professional female players to come forward to help us with our project.
“We are looking for women and men over 40, who live in the UK and do not have a diagnosis of dementia.
“We are tracking their brain health over time. And we hope to follow these footballers for many years to come.”
Sir Geoff Hurst is among leading football figures calling for a ban on children heading footballsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The issue of dementia in football has become a pressing concern for the sport with some of the game’s biggest names supporting a ban on children heading the ball.
1966 World Cup legend Sir Geoff Hurst is among the leading figures backing the call following his England peers’ struggles with dementia.
And the Professional Footballers’ Association announced its plans to create a new taskforce to analyse the issue of brain injury diseases in football.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
