Britain's soccer associations to fund dementia research

Published March 16, 2017

Football Association , FA, CEO Martin Glenn, left, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino smile during a press conference after the 131st International Football Association Board (IFAB) annual general meeting at Wembley stadium in London, Friday, March 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) (The Associated Press)

Britain's soccer associations say they will fund a study to try to discover if players are more prone to developing dementia.

The announcement on Friday comes after research published last month highlighted how degenerative damage can potentially be caused by repeated blows to the head in soccer. Six of 14 former players had signs of Alzheimer's disease after their brains underwent post-mortem examinations.

English Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn says the fresh research will look at whether "the incidence of dementia is greater in professional footballers, or former professional footballers, than it is in the population as a whole."

Glenn says the study will cost "six figures," adding that details are still being finalized by the four British soccer federations backing the initiative.

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