TWO figures in local football say there are only positives to gain from outlawing heading in youth games.

Using the head in football has long been a controversial topic because of the amount of research showingthe harmful, long-term effects on players who did it excessively. The research coincides with that done in other sports where physical contact is made with athletes’ heads. These sports include but are not limited to boxing, American football, rugby, professional wrestling, slap fighting, and mixed martial arts. This has been linked to dementia and other neurological issues.

One of these studies was done by Dr Willie Stewart of Glasgow University in Glasgow, Scotland. He found that excessive heading of the ball during training and in matches has made players up to three and a half times more likely to die from brain disease and that they are at a greater risk for dementia.

There is greater concern regarding the heading of the ball by children. Dr Akshai Mansingh, a sports medicine expert and dean of the Faculty of Sport at The University of the West Indies, told the Jamaica Observer recently.

“As you know, in kids the brain is a bit smaller than the skull so there’s more movement of the brain in the skull, which means more likelihood of damage to the brain, and that’s why they banned it with children.”

But while that ban at the youth level exists in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as in Canada and the United States (US), no such decision has been made in Jamaica.

The Observer contacted the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) Technical Committee Chairman Rudolph Speid, and while he shared his views on the matter he declined to comment as a JFF official. But he outlined recommendations for change.

“Definitely below the Under-13 or Under-12 level they shouldn’t be allowed to head the ball any at all,” he said, continuing “but [if] you teach them to head with the right technique then it’s probably not so bad. But if the ball is just hitting you, it’s a problem.

“That’s my personal view; I’m not talking about the JFF’s view.

“The other problem is that we use size-five balls for those ages and that ball is just too heavy — it’s like a blow; some of the time the problem is the equipment being used. The younger they are, they should be using smaller balls — maybe a size three — then at the Under-13 level, they should be using a size-four ball so you’re not getting that heavy blow to the head.”

Speid says the need to head the ball would be reduced if youth games were played with less than 11 players and on smaller fields.

“If you small-sided games it’s better because you don’t head the ball as much in those games,” he said.

Gregory Jones, a youth football tournament organiser at ProNation Sports and coach of Emmanuel Christian Academy, agrees with Speid.

“You look at other countries and the kids 12 and under play seven-a-side,” he said. “There’s less heading of the ball because there’s less distance to kick the ball.

“In the US they still use the big field for the kids but there’s what they call a “play-out line”, and you’re not allowed to kick the ball in the air for long distances. So, the goalkeeper can’t punt the ball — it has to be played out from the back. That’s all a part of development. You’re teaching them to play out from the back and to play fewer aerial balls. Also, for the corner kicks they go short instead of swinging it across to try to get someone to head the ball. It helps with possession, it helps with technique to play the ball along the ground.”

Jones cited one incident when one of his teams played a tournament in the US in 2015 but did not realise heading was outlawed until one of his players did it while defending. An indirect free kick was given from where the header took place, in the box. It resulted in a goal for the opponents. But while they won the tournament, Jones said it was not easy.

“What happened for the entire tournament was that my boys struggled because we were used to floating the free kicks in the box and swinging the ball across,” he said.

The Observer spoke to a number of coaches for a similar story last October and some said they do not think a decision should be made regarding outlawing heading until what they describe as “more conclusive” results are found. They also agreed that deflating the balls (size five) should be enough to avoid any issues. But Mansingh disputed that argument.

Jones disagrees as well, saying local football stakeholders are too reactive, and only enact change after someone is harmed.

“For an adult to have a concussion, that’s not good,” he said. “For a developing brain to have a concussion, it’s not good. I’m not a doctor but I’m telling you what’s happening in various jurisdictions, hence why they decided to ban heading of the ball in other countries.

“As an organiser of tournaments for U-12, I believe in being proactive. I know some of the coaches are gonna lick out against it.

“It’s something we have to look at, and we need to get the coaches educated. The JFF has to play a bigger role — but that’s another discussion for another time.”

Although the wait continues for local authorities to make a ruling on the matter, should more research be presented and more nations continue the outlaw, it may only be a matter of time before global governing body FIFA imposes its own outlaw on all member associations.