Manchester united legend and England world cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton won three league titles, one FA Cup and of course one European title during his 17 year career with Manchester United and it also cannot be forgotten that he was a survivor of the Munich air disaster of 1958.
The reaction as followed on twitter was that of sadness and appreciation for what Bobby has achieved in his career and in life however raised eyebrows on whether further action needs to be taken by the Football Association in terms of reducing the risk of ex professionals contracting this disease later in life.
Charlton lost his brother and fellow World Cup winner back in July and this news comes only one week after his former teammate Nobby Stiles also passed away following a long battle with dementia also. This makes Bobby the fifth member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning side to be diagnosed with the disease. This has to raise the question whether the repetitive heading of a football throughout a footballers career is a determining factor with being diagnosed with this illness?
A study by The University of East Anglia on the 7th of January 2020 https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/study-former-footballers-dementia-risk/ announced a new study to test memory and thinking skills in former professional football players to see if they showed any cognitive changes due to concussions and head injuries. The study found a clear link between ex professional footballers and dementia but state it’s not yet clear whether or how football can address this issue.
A bigger study by The University of Glasgow in 2019. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2019/october/headline_681082_en.html They could not find a definitive link between heading a football and dementia however their researches found that “former professionals are three and a half times more likely to die from heading a football than the average person”.
Thoughts and best wishes are of course with Bobby’s family hoping he can overcome this disease for help and guidance or just more information on the disease visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/help-and-support/
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