A new research initiative from the Scottish FA and Hampden Sports Clinic will seek to establish the patterns of professional players heading the ball in training.
The Scottish FA will this week issue a survey to clubs in the four tiers of the SPFL, the Highland and Lowland Leagues, and SWPL 1 and 2, that will seek to capture data on the frequency and type of heading taking place.
The survey will ask clubs to count the number of headers that take place in different scenarios in training over the course of a week, with the data gathered potentially being used to shape future guidance on heading practices.
The survey looks to build on the findings from the pioneering FIELD study in 2019 that established for the first time a link between ex-professional footballers and an increased incidence of neurodegenerative disease, including dementia.
Once captured, the data will be analysed and the Scottish FA and Hampden Sports Clinic will then engage with clubs in a collaborative process to determine how to incorporate any changes that may be recommended into training practice.
While the Scottish FA have already introduced heading guidelines for all age groups from six to 17 years old, this research could potentially shape the first guidelines of its kind for professional football training in Europe.
Scottish FA Chief Football Officer Andy Gould: “There already exists a lot of data around in-match heading but what we don’t know enough about is the load of heading within the training environment.
“The survey will investigate whether there are any differences in heading training amongst the different divisions and between male and female football, as well as looking at individuals to ascertain whether there are any variations in how different playing positions train.”
“This research is about understanding the practices that exist within both part-time and full-time professional football training so that we can then facilitate an informed discussion with the clubs based on the data and science to inform future practice.
Scottish FA Medical Consultant John MacLean: “The research will gather scientific evidence on the amount of headers within training but the key thing is the collaboration with the clubs that will follow.
“We have already worked with some experts at clubs in constructing the survey to make sure that we are asking the right types of questions and once we have the data we will ask them to make the journey with us – to discuss what will be sensible and practical to train football as we know it but potentially reduce any heading burden that could be problematic.
“If the research shows that there is any repetitive or unnecessary heading then we can work to reduce that, to limit that heading burden to practice that is part of essential preparation for matches.”