Latest news with #FFJ
The National
30-04-2025
- Health
- The National
MPs urged to address ‘scandalous' dementia support for ex-players
Former England stars including Sir Geoff Hurst and Kevin Keegan went to the House of Commons on Tuesday evening to meet with MPs in support of the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign. FFJ wants football's new independent regulator to impose a statutory duty on the sport's national authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy, including a substantially-increased care fund. A postmortem on the brain of England's 1966 World Cup-winning midfielder Nobby Stiles found he had CTE (Mike Egerton/PA) FFJ is headed up by John Stiles, the son of former England and Manchester United midfielder Nobby Stiles, who died in October 2020. A post-mortem on 1966 World Cup winner Stiles' brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts. Stiles told the PA news agency that the Brain Health Fund, set up with an initial £1million in 2023 by players' union the Professional Footballers' Association with support from the Premier League, was a 'smokescreen', 'PR exercise' and 'not fit for purpose'. 'My dad's care costs were £125,000 – £1m won't even pay for 12 families' care costs for a year. We want a properly financed fund,' he said. Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, whose father died from dementia, told the meeting: 'Is there another union who treats their own like the PFA have treated families like they have? 'Their website (says): 'We provide players' rights, represent their views, and provide support. We are the only football organisation that solely prioritises players needs, and we are here for you, for football for life'. 'There's not one person in the room who would feel that was the case. That's not good enough.' Giving the regulator powers in this area would require an amendment to the Football Governance Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons on Monday, and Stiles accepted the chances of achieving that were 'pretty slim'. A number of MPs expressed support for widening the regulator's remit during Monday's debate, with Caerphilly's Labour MP Chris Evans saying investigating this issue was vital to avoid current England stars being at risk. The 2019 FIELD Study, co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association, found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the population. Further FIELD Study research published last December found that the increased risk was not driven by general health or lifestyle factors. Stiles insisted the main priority for FFJ was to compel football to urgently provide greater funding to those affected. 'It's only going to get worse. Families are having to sell their homes to pay for care costs,' he said. 'We also want some sort of compensation for widows. What's going on at the moment is scandalous. It's absolutely scandalous.' An FA spokesperson said: 'We continue to take a leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game. Former England stars including Sir Geoff Hurst (pictured) and Kevin Keegan went to the House of Commons on Tuesday to meet with MPs (Nick Potts/PA) 'This includes investing in and supporting multiple projects in order to gain a greater understanding of this area through objective, robust and thorough research. 'We have already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors which may be associated with football whilst ongoing research continues in this area, including liaising with the international governing bodies.' The PFA has also been approached for comment.
The Herald Scotland
30-04-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
MPs urged to address ‘scandalous' dementia support for ex-players
FFJ wants football's new independent regulator to impose a statutory duty on the sport's national authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy, including a substantially-increased care fund. A postmortem on the brain of England's 1966 World Cup-winning midfielder Nobby Stiles found he had CTE (Mike Egerton/PA) FFJ is headed up by John Stiles, the son of former England and Manchester United midfielder Nobby Stiles, who died in October 2020. A post-mortem on 1966 World Cup winner Stiles' brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts. Stiles told the PA news agency that the Brain Health Fund, set up with an initial £1million in 2023 by players' union the Professional Footballers' Association with support from the Premier League, was a 'smokescreen', 'PR exercise' and 'not fit for purpose'. 'My dad's care costs were £125,000 – £1m won't even pay for 12 families' care costs for a year. We want a properly financed fund,' he said. Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, whose father died from dementia, told the meeting: 'Is there another union who treats their own like the PFA have treated families like they have? 'Their website (says): 'We provide players' rights, represent their views, and provide support. We are the only football organisation that solely prioritises players needs, and we are here for you, for football for life'. 'There's not one person in the room who would feel that was the case. That's not good enough.' Giving the regulator powers in this area would require an amendment to the Football Governance Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons on Monday, and Stiles accepted the chances of achieving that were 'pretty slim'. A number of MPs expressed support for widening the regulator's remit during Monday's debate, with Caerphilly's Labour MP Chris Evans saying investigating this issue was vital to avoid current England stars being at risk. The 2019 FIELD Study, co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association, found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the population. Further FIELD Study research published last December found that the increased risk was not driven by general health or lifestyle factors. Stiles insisted the main priority for FFJ was to compel football to urgently provide greater funding to those affected. 'It's only going to get worse. Families are having to sell their homes to pay for care costs,' he said. 'We also want some sort of compensation for widows. What's going on at the moment is scandalous. It's absolutely scandalous.' An FA spokesperson said: 'We continue to take a leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game. Former England stars including Sir Geoff Hurst (pictured) and Kevin Keegan went to the House of Commons on Tuesday to meet with MPs (Nick Potts/PA) 'This includes investing in and supporting multiple projects in order to gain a greater understanding of this area through objective, robust and thorough research. 'We have already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors which may be associated with football whilst ongoing research continues in this area, including liaising with the international governing bodies.' The PFA has also been approached for comment.
Powys County Times
30-04-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
MPs urged to address ‘scandalous' dementia support for families of ex-players
Campaigners have called on MPs to help tackle what they say is a 'scandalous' lack of funding to support the families of footballers diagnosed with dementia. Former England stars including Sir Geoff Hurst and Kevin Keegan went to the House of Commons on Tuesday evening to meet with MPs in support of the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign. FFJ wants football's new independent regulator to impose a statutory duty on the sport's national authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy, including a substantially-increased care fund. FFJ is headed up by John Stiles, the son of former England and Manchester United midfielder Nobby Stiles, who died in October 2020. A post-mortem on 1966 World Cup winner Stiles' brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts. Stiles told the PA news agency that the Brain Health Fund, set up with an initial £1million in 2023 by players' union the Professional Footballers' Association with support from the Premier League, was a 'smokescreen', 'PR exercise' and 'not fit for purpose'. 'My dad's care costs were £125,000 – £1m won't even pay for 12 families' care costs for a year. We want a properly financed fund,' he said. Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, whose father died from dementia, told the meeting: 'Is there another union who treats their own like the PFA have treated families like they have? 'Their website (says): 'We provide players' rights, represent their views, and provide support. We are the only football organisation that solely prioritises players needs, and we are here for you, for football for life'. 'There's not one person in the room who would feel that was the case. That's not good enough.' Giving the regulator powers in this area would require an amendment to the Football Governance Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons on Monday, and Stiles accepted the chances of achieving that were 'pretty slim'. A number of MPs expressed support for widening the regulator's remit during Monday's debate, with Caerphilly's Labour MP Chris Evans saying investigating this issue was vital to avoid current England stars being at risk. The 2019 FIELD Study, co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association, found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the population. Further FIELD Study research published last December found that the increased risk was not driven by general health or lifestyle factors. Stiles insisted the main priority for FFJ was to compel football to urgently provide greater funding to those affected. 'It's only going to get worse. Families are having to sell their homes to pay for care costs,' he said. 'We also want some sort of compensation for widows. What's going on at the moment is scandalous. It's absolutely scandalous.' An FA spokesperson said: 'We continue to take a leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game. 'This includes investing in and supporting multiple projects in order to gain a greater understanding of this area through objective, robust and thorough research. 'We have already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors which may be associated with football whilst ongoing research continues in this area, including liaising with the international governing bodies.'
ITV News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
New watchdog must investigate risk of dementia in football, MPs say
The prevalence of dementia in football must be tackled by the sport's new independent regulator, MPs have said. There are calls for the new watchdog to be given powers to investigate the issue or risk current players suffering the same fate as England stars of the past like Sir Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles. Charlton's dementia diagnosis was confirmed in November 2020, weeks after the death of his 1966 World Cup-winning team-mate Stiles. A postmortem on Stiles' brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts. Stiles' son John is the leader of the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) group which is bringing its campaign to Westminster on Tuesday 29 April. FFJ has the support of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and is seeking an amendment to the Football Governance Bill to give the regulator powers to impose a statutory duty on the football authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy. Chris Evans, the Labour MP for Caerphilly, said during the second reading of the Bill in Parliament on Monday, 28 April: 'Footballers suffer neurodegenerative diseases at four to five times the national average. "It is something that needs to be investigated. 'When the football regulator comes about, I hope research into medical conditions is part of its remit, to support people who have given so many others so much pleasure over the years. 'I hope that there is something we can do to ensure that the tragedies suffered by Nobby Stiles, Jackie Charlton and Bobby Charlton – legends whose names trip off the tongue – are not suffered by their successors, such as Harry Kane.' Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said he felt the Premier League and the Football Association 'do not do justice' by the families of affected former players. 'Those organisations are meant to help families with the care costs of such former professionals, but they do not do so,' he said. 'Will the Secretary of State meet Football Families for Justice so that we can put something in the Bill that will force the wealthy people in football to support those who suffer?' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy responded to say she planned to meet with the families 'shortly'. The campaign has the backing of another 1966 World Cup winner, Sir Geoff Hurst, along with former England captain David Beckham. The FA and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) co-funded arguably the single most important piece of research which informs the debate on dementia in football, the 2019 FIELD Study, which found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population. The PFA and the Premier League set up the Football Brain Health Fund in September 2023, worth an initial £1million, a figure FFJ leader Stiles has described as a 'pittance'.
Leader Live
29-04-2025
- Health
- Leader Live
MPs urged to address ‘scandalous' dementia support for families of ex-players
Former England stars including Sir Geoff Hurst and Kevin Keegan will be at the House of Commons on Tuesday evening to meet with MPs in support of the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign. FFJ wants football's new independent regulator to impose a statutory duty on the sport's national authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy, including a substantially increased care fund. FFJ is headed up by John Stiles, the son of former England and Manchester United midfielder Nobby Stiles who died in October 2020. A postmortem on 1966 World Cup winner Stiles' brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts. John Stiles told the PA news agency that the Brain Health Fund set up by players' union the Professional Footballers' Association was a 'smokescreen' and a 'PR exercise'. The fund, which was created in September 2023 with the support of the Premier League, was launched with an initial £1million. '(The fund) is not fit for purpose,' Stiles added. 'My dad's care costs were £125,000 – £1m won't even pay for 12 families' care costs for a year. So we want a properly financed fund.' Giving the regulator powers in this area would require an amendment to the Football Governance Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons on Monday. Stiles accepts the chances of achieving an amendment are 'pretty slim' but added: 'We can't not go for it because the union isn't helping us. They're not fighting for us. 'The PFA aren't helping us in any way. So we're doing every angle we can to try and get this sorted out.' A number of MPs expressed support for widening the regulator's remit during Monday evening's debate, with Chris Evans, the Labour member for Caerphilly, saying investigating this issue was vital to avoid current England stars like Harry Kane being at risk. The 2019 FIELD Study, co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association, found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the population. Further FIELD Study research published last December found that the increased risk was not driven by general health or lifestyle factors. Stiles insists the main priority for FFJ is to compel football to urgently provide greater funding to those affected. 'This isn't going away. It's only going to get worse. Families are having to sell their homes to pay for care costs,' he said. 'We also want some sort of compensation for widows. What's going on at the moment is scandalous. It's absolutely scandalous. 'Families ring me up and say 'if he goes in a care home, I don't know what we're going to do'. They will be losing their homes. And we know that heading the ball has done it.' An FA spokesperson said: 'We continue to take a leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game. This includes investing in and supporting multiple projects in order to gain a greater understanding of this area through objective, robust and thorough research. 'We have already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors which may be associated with football whilst ongoing research continues in this area including liaising with the international governing bodies.' The PFA has also been approached for comment.
