The Drake Foundation

Our latest survey, which involved over 2000 adult amateurs and the parents of youth players, has uncovered a major concern over the long-term health effects of sport, plus support for rule changes to decrease the risk of brain injury.

Our survey revealed a number of findings:

▪️ 17% of adult rugby amateurs intend to stop playing following high-profile dementia cases.

▪️ 77% of adult football amateurs support rules to restrict heading.

▪️ A majority of parents want tackling and scrums banned from youth rugby.

Our Founder and Chairman, James JP Drake: “We hope these findings will help to speed up the implementation of rule changes also to protect younger and amateur participants, so both rugby and football can be enjoyed safely by all.”

Read the results in full in today's The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/02/19/revealed-players-parents-call-sweeping-change-grass-roots-sport/

Revealed: Players and parents call for sweeping change in grass-roots sport over brain injury fears Exclusive: A major survey has laid clear the extent of concern that amateur players and parents have over long-term health effects

We are delighted to announce that England National Team Manager, Gareth Southgate, is taking part in the HEADING research study, funded by The Drake Foundation, which aims to uncover the link between neurodegenerative disease and a professional football career.

Are you a former professional footballer aged 50+? Find out how you can take part here: www.drakefoundation.org/gareth-southgate-joins-the-drake-foundations-heading-study

A pioneering technique that involves may fix cauliflower ears with a simple injection, giving players hope of a better life in retirement.

Read more about this via The Times here:

Pioneering tech signals game over for the curse of cauliflower ears The practitioners of the front row’s dark arts in rugby are a rare breed, united by their devotion to shoving opponents backwards in the scrum and usually happy to shun the limelight.When they leave

"Reducing brain damage in sport without losing the thrills" – via BBC

Reducing brain damage in sport without losing the thrills Sports like NFL and rugby are taking head injuries much more seriously and employing technology to help.

"Less than half of patients recover within 2 weeks of injury after a sports-related mild traumatic brain injury" – recently published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.

https://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Fulltext/2020/03000/Less_Than_Half_of_Patients_Recover_Within_2_Weeks.2.aspx

Less Than Half of Patients Recover Within 2 Weeks of Injury ... : Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine dred twenty-two patients presenting within 14 days of a SR-mTBI/concussion over a 2-year period. Main Outcome Measures: Clinical recovery measured as number of days after injury. Interventions Methods: Participants were assessed and managed using a standardized protocol consisting of relative rest f...

Shane Williams, former British and Irish Lions wing, has filmed a documentary for BBC One Wales on ' , and Me', in which he "explores how the sport is taking steps to reduce head injuries and the damage they cause."

'Shane Williams: Concussion, Rugby and Me' - new BBC One Wales documentary In a special BBC documentary, rugby legend Shane Williams explores the sport's concussion risks and how the game is becoming safer.

Has a ban on heading the ball affected soccer in the US?

"As the Scottish football association announced a ban on children heading the ball, BBC Sport Scotland's news correspondent Chris McLaughlin travelled to the US where similar rules have been in force since 2015."

Has a ban on heading the ball affected US soccer? Children aged 10 and under have been banned from heading the ball in the US since a lawsuit in 2015.

"Primary-age children have been banned from heading the ball in new guidelines issued by the football associations in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland."

"The guidance, which will not yet apply in Wales, will affect training only." – via BBC Sport

Children banned from heading footballs The training guidelines are effective immediately but do not recommend a heading ban during matches.

"The FA will issue guidance next week to severely limit heading by children in a move that goes beyond the recommendations of Fifa's medical committee." via The Times

FA to introduce restrictions on heading by children next week The FA will issue guidance next week to severely limit heading by children in a move that goes beyond the recommendations of Fifa’s medical committee.English football’s governing body has taken the

A ban on children heading the ball may be put in place in Scotland over the next few weeks by the Scottish FA, following recent findings linking football and dementia.

SFA 'could ban kids heading balls within weeks' The move follows a study which found that former players are three and half times more like to die of dementia.

New football and dementia study announced by a research team from the University of East Anglia. The study aims to detect early signs of dementia in former professional football players.

Read more here:

www.concussionzone.com

The Drake Football Study protocol has now been published in BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Learn more about how the team of researchers plan to assess the health challenges experienced by professional players before, during and after retirement here:

www.concussionzone.com