Nobby Stiles’ son has warned of a brain injury “epidemic” among footballers who head the ball, especially women.
John Stiles spoke after an inquest on Wednesday into the death of his father, the England 1966 World Cup winner and former Manchester United midfielder, heard that thousands of headers had caused his chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
CTE is a brain condition linked to repeated head impacts. It can cause problems with memory, mood and behaviour, and is usually diagnosed after death.
John Stiles, who founded campaign group Football Families for Justice, said afterwards that women’s football was “a particular concern” that “really needs to be addressed”.
He added: “Tragically the brain injuries epidemic will grow as so many more girls play football: women’s brains are even more susceptible to damage from heading.
“Anybody who heads the ball is very likely to get this disease and, for God’s sake, we must do something about it now.”
Stiles said a “proper fund” was needed for when former players go into care homes, adding that funding from the Premier League and players’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, was not “adequate”.
Senior coroner Alison Mulch is writing a prevention of future deaths report after recording Stiles’ cause of death in 2020 as Alzheimer’s disease, contributed to by CTE.
Stiles died with severe dementia in 2020 aged 78 and had headed a football about 140,000 times during his career, Stockport Coroners’ Court heard during the inquest into his death.
Neuropathology expert Dr Daniel Du Plessis told the court: “I’m quite convinced his heading the football that many times has caused his CTE [chronic traumatic encephalopathy].”
Six years ago, former Southampton and England player Sue Lopez, one of the pioneers of the women’s game, revealed she had dementia and cited heading as the likely cause.
Four other members of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team died as a result of dementia-related illnesses: Sir Bobby Charlton, Jack Charlton, Ray Wilson and Martin Peters.
Stiles, who was born in Collyhurst, Manchester, in 1942, was a tough-tackling defensive midfielder.
He was capped 28 times by England and played nearly 400 times for Manchester United.
He lived in Stretford, Greater Manchester, and died in a care home on 30 October 2020, after dementia left him bed-bound.
His family has campaigned for football authorities to do more to help former players cope with injuries they say were caused during their playing careers.
Wednesday’s inquest into his death heard that Old Trafford used to have a ball that would hang down from the stand and players were encouraged to head it.
The coroner recorded Stiles’ cause of death as Alzheimer’s disease with “high stage” CTE.
She also said a condition known as stage three limbic predominant age-related TDP-43 had been a contributing factor, as well as cerebrovascular disease.
TDP-43 is a protein that can build up abnormally in the brain, while cerebrovascular disease involves problems with blood flow in the brain.
The FA co-funded, with the Professional Footballers’ Association, a 2019 study that found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population.
The Football Association
is phasing out all football heading up to under-11s this year.
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