A fund to support footballers living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions must be established by football stakeholders, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has said.
Since the publication of the landmark FIELD study, which showed that ex-professional Scottish footballers born between 1900 and 1976 had a 3.5 time greater risk of having dementia as a cause of death, calls have built for action to be taken both to prevent further cases, and to support those affected.
The PFA has worked with other football stakeholders on this approach, and has resulted in the adoption of new heading guidelines, commitment to further research and new concussion protocols.
But now, the PFA – which represents all current and former footballers and scholars in the Premier League, the FA Women’s Super League and the English Football Leagues – is calling for an industry-wide care fund to be established, following months of talks with the major organisations in the game, including CEOs from The FA, Premier League and EFL, where commitment to this level of support has been provisionally agreed.
PFA CEO, Maheta Molango – who recently made public his commitment to donate his brain to research – said: “I have been pleased to see how all the English football organisations have been working on a joint approach to this issue.
“It’s great that the entire football family has come together to raise awareness of neurodegenerative conditions, improve education about these illnesses and crucially, find ways to support current and former players living with or at risk of dementia and other conditions.
“When I initially joined the PFA as CEO, one of my first priorities was for myself and PFA Chairman, John Mousinho, to meet with families to better understand their needs.
“The PFA will always be an advocate for former players living with neurodegenerative conditions and their families, so now we must consult with them before finalising the parameters of our joint action plan to ensure PFA members have access to the best care possible.”
Since January 2021, the PFA has established a new Support Team, including Dawn Astle and Rachel Walden, who have advised the PFA in assessing the needs of former members living with dementia and has helped the organisation to rescope its support services. It can now help families access available state benefits, establish power of attorney, organise adult social care, connect with occupational therapists and work through courses on living with dementia, as well as to access additional support mechanisms through partnerships with Sporting Memories and the Jeff Astle Foundation.
“We are hopeful the industry-wide care fund will be announced in due course. In the meantime, the wellbeing of current and former professional footballers remains our utmost priority,” said Molango.
“PFA members living with dementia or other neurodegenerative conditions can continue to access grants from the PFA Charity towards respite care, care in the home and home adaptations.”
Anyone needing more information on the support available can contact dementia@thepfa.com
