The Dutch sports council has called for heading to be banned in football for children under 12 because of growing evidence that it increases the risk of dementia in later life.

The advisory body also said head contact should be banned in rugby and sports such as boxing, kickboxing and taekwondo, up to the age of 12, and “strongly discouraged” for under-18s.

Helmets should be compulsory in sports with a high risk of head injuries in falls, including speed skating and skiing. Governing bodies should also aim to reduce blows to the head for adults playing sport, the organisation said.

Sports minister Judith Thielen said her department would consider the sports council’s recommendations carefully. “The sports council has put this important subject on the agenda for our society, the government and sports organisations.”

The football association KNVB has already published guidelines stating that under-12s should head the ball no more than 10 times per training session, but it does not favour an outright ban.

Growing calls for ban

The Dutch health council (Gezondheidsraad) called in June for heading to be limited for professional and amateur footballers because of indications that it increased the risk of neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease (ALS).

Researchers at Amsterdam University Medical Centre who studied the brain of former footballer Wout Holverda after his death concluded that his dementia was probably caused by repeated heading. Holverda, who played for Sparta Rotterdam between 1978 and 1984, died in December 2021, aged 63.

Heading has been banned in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland since 2020, while in Scotland professional players are not allowed to head the ball in training on the day before or the day after a match.

The decision followed the publication of a study by Glasgow University that showed former footballers were three and a half times more likely to die as a result of brain disease.

In Belgium, heading has been banned by the Flemish football association for under-nines and there are moves to extend the age limit to 13.

KNVB response

“In general we agree with the sports council that we need to do something about heading, that it should be limited,” said KNVB medical chief Edwin Goedhart.

“The group we are talking about now, the youngest players, are actually the least of our concerns because they hardly ever head the ball. And they should have the chance to learn how to do it properly.”

Goedhart said he wanted to enter into talks with the sports council. “We want exactly the same thing, but how we achieve it is something we need to discuss.”

National coach Ronald Koeman told a press conference ahead of Oranje’s international against Poland that “heading is part of football“.

“I understand that they are looking at it for young players, but I am still a little old-fashioned,” he said. “It happens on average once every 12 matches. You can ask yourself: what’s all the fuss about? I don’t think these medical experts are football players.”