Heading could be banned in football matches for under 12s

The FA could ban heading in football from 2023 season

Children aged 12 and under could be banned from deliberate heading in all football matches from September 2023, the Football Association (FA) has suggested.

The FA, which looks after all football in England, says it will trial the removal of heading from football matches across U12 level and below in England from the start of the 2022-23 season.

The FA says the trial will be co-ordinated with leagues, clubs and schools throughout the country.

In January and February 2020, children under 12 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were banned from deliberate heading during training, but not matches.

The FA says it applied to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for the trial and if it is successful will apply again for a change in the law.

"Should the trial be a success, the aim is to then remove deliberate heading from all football matches at U12 level and below from the 2023-24 season," the FA has said in a statement.

How did the idea to ban heading come about?

A study released in October 2019 reported the first possible links between former footballers and brain disease.

The report suggested players could be three and a half times more likely to die of dementia, a condition which affects people's brains.

Since then discussions over what to do about it have been taking place.

What are the current rules around heading?

In the US there have been rules around kids heading footballs since 2015. The US Soccer Federation rule means kids under 11 years old aren't allowed to head balls and and there are also restrictions on players aged 11-13 doing headers during football training.

Heading the ball is already banned for most children for children during training sessions

In January 2020, Scotland became the first European country to ban heading football for under-12s in training.

In February of that year the FA, Scottish FA and Irish FA bought out new guidance saying children under 12 were not able to head balls during training and that heading would be introduced gradually between the ages of 12 and 16.

Adult footballers were also given new guidance by the FA in 2020 to limit high-impact headers to ten per week.

The FA says this trial is to lessen any risks while the links between long-term brain injury and heading are looked into.

"It represents a cautious approach to playing and enjoying football whilst ongoing research continues in this area," an FA statement read.

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