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September 8, 2023
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) have announced a new fund, supported by the Premier League, to assist former players and their family members who have been impacted by dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. The PFA is the union for all current and former footballers and scholars in the Premier League, the FA Women’s Super League and the English Football Leagues.
An initial amount of £1million is available to provide discretionary financial support to former players and their families to help improve their quality of life. The fund will be in place while the PFA and Premier League work to establish a charity involving other football stakeholders as the longer-term solution.
In 2019, a Glasgow University study found that former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population. As reported by the BBC, a group of 30 former footballers and their families, including relatives of 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, launched legal action against football’s governing bodies in November 2022, claiming they had failed to protect them from brain injuries.
Stiles, a hero for England at the 1966 tournament, died from prostate cancer and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), an advanced form of dementia in 2020. The group accused the Football Associations of England and Wales as well as the International Football Association Board of “failing to take reasonable action” to reduce blows to the head.
“This is an important step forward in the way football provides practical support to former players who develop dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions,” said Maheta Molango, Chief Executive of the PFA. “It’s an issue where, in all areas, we continue to believe there needs to be a football-wide responsibility. That includes providing access to financial support for former players and the families who most need it.”
Former professional footballers who were members of the PFA and have a diagnosed neurodegenerative disease will be able to apply for support. These will then be assessed by a newly established, independent panel.
The panel includes senior sectoral experts with experience in neurology, nursing and social care and will be led by Steve Jamieson, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. He is also a Trustee of Dementia UK and Chair of Dementia UK Admiral Nurses Clinical Committee.
The PFA’s established Brain Health team will continue as a central point of contact for former players and their families to access support and advice, including on how to apply for fund resources. However, the new expert panel will ensure that decisions regarding financial assistance are made independently of the football authorities and against informed and established criteria.
The Football Brain Health Fund is designed to provide a transparent and streamlined process through which those seeking help can apply for financial assistance, while also ensuring they receive personal contact and advice on broader support which may also be available to them.
Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: “The welfare and care of players has always been a priority for the Premier League, and we feel it is important to offer our support to this newly established brain health fund. The fund builds on our long-standing partnership with the PFA and strengthens our collective support for former players facing health challenges.”
Sources: Premier League, BBC Sport
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