Whether it’s at practice or during a Fifa World Cup match, football players could unknowingly be putting their brain health at risk every time they take to the field.

Studies suggest that retired football players have a higher risk of developing dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, compared to the general population. It’s currently thought that this increased risk is partly being driven by performing one particular skill: heading the ball.

Research testing the effects of repeated heading impacts during a training session or game found immediate but short-term changes in markers of brain health. This included reduced cognitive function, lower capacity to control brain blood flow and increases in blood biomarkers indicating neural damage.

These observations suggest that brain function may be temporarily compromised immediately following a single training session or game involving heading. Additionally, football players with a history of heading the ball are found to have reduced brain blood vessel function compared to people with no history of football heading. This suggests that........

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