Latest news with #JohnStiles
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Nandy to meet football families over brain diseases
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy will meet with former footballers and their families on Tuesday to hear more about "the devastating impacts" that neurodegenerative diseases have had on comes amid a campaign by Football Families for Justice (FFJ) calling for more financial help from the sport's governing bodies for those affected by dementia and other brain month former England internationals, including Sir Geoff Hurst and Kevin Keegan, met MPs in support of the by John Stiles, the son of England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, FFJ wants football's new independent regulator to impose a statutory duty on the sport's authorities to develop a dementia Manchester United midfielder Stiles, who died in 2020, had prostate cancer and advanced dementia. His brain was diagnosed as having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) - a form of degenerative disease dementia which is believed to be caused by repeated Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram have also backed calls for an amendment to the Football Governance Bill to establish a compensation scheme to help with care costs for former players with dementia.A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: "The culture secretary Lisa Nandy and sports minister Stephanie Peacock will meet with ex-footballers and their loved ones to hear more about the devastating impacts that neurodegenerative diseases are having on their lives."Welfare at all levels of sport is of paramount importance and the meeting will be a valuable opportunity to understand views on potential future approaches, based on the first-hand experiences of professional players."The Professional Footballers' Association, the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales, has a dedicated brain health team to support former members, and educate current players, concerned about brain September 2023, it launched the Football Brain Health Fund, making available an initial £1m to assist former players and their families who have been impacted by dementia and other neurodegenerative the fund has been criticised as inadequate by year, the Football Association said it would introduce a new rule to phase out deliberate heading in grassroots youth matches across England.
Daily Mirror
04-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Ex-stars with brain conditions linked to heading could be in line for care costs from FA
The campaign for financial support was led by John Stiles, son of Nobby, the England 1966 hero who died with dementia Former footballers with brain conditions linked to heading the ball could be paid care costs by the game's governing bodies. Changes to the Football Governance Bill would see chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other neurological disorders like dementia treated as an "industrial injury" in the plans to be put before Parliament. The Football Association and Professional Footballers' Association may then be required by law to provide financial support for long term care. The Brain Health Fund, set up with an initial £1m in 2023 by the PFA union with support from the Premier League, has been criticised by campaigners. The Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees. But Labour MP Chris Evans is among those who are pushing for the football authorities to contribute towards care costs faced by players who develop Alzheimer's, dementia and the likes of CTE after they have retired. John Stiles, son of Man Utd and England legend Nobby who died in 2020 aged 78, has led the calls for change. He chaired an event in Parliament last week to discuss the bill. He said: "How can it be right that heroes alive today like Tony Parkes, hundreds of others, don't get the cash for the care they deserve from an industry rolling with cash? "How can it be right that heroes like Chris Nicholl, Gordon McQueen, Jimmy Robson, Joe Kinnear, hundreds of others, died without getting help from an industry awash with cash?" Dr Judith Gates, 79, of Head Safe Football, has also campaigned for more financial help for footballers' families and more protection for young players from heading since the diagnosis of husband Bill Gates. The ex-Middlesbrough player, the first to earn £50-a-week, died in 2023 aged 79 from CTE. Judith, of Castle Eden, Co Durham, said it was vital that families were able to plan for long term care, adding: "At the moment, families of players must apply to the state first. "I find that unethical, the State is stretched enough. It seems to me that football should help those who have developed CTE as a result of playing the game." The heroes of 1966 Jack and Bobby Charlton, Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles died with dementia. The Football Governance Bill would create an independent regulator for the top five tiers of the men's game in England. That is designed to ensure clubs are run sustainably and are accountable to their fans. Mr Evans, the MP for Caerphilly MP, wants a financial scheme to provide care and support for ex-footballers. Mr Evans said he believed it was "absolutely disgraceful the way the PFA has treated these players". Sir Geoff Hurst, Kevin Keegan, Chris Sutton and David May backed the compensation scheme at a recent Commons event. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who helped draft the amendment alongside Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram, told the meeting: "It's like the game is in denial about the whole thing, and that just cannot continue." He added: "The game should fix it." The 2019 FIELD Study, co-funded by the PFA and the FA, found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the population. Former Norwich and Blackburn striker Chris Sutton, whose father Mike, also a former footballer, died of dementia in 2020, said: "We are asking our industry to look after our own players who have been shunned and forgotten and their families, who face huge care costs. Is that too much to ask for?" The PFA and Premier League declined to comment. 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." An EFL Spokesperson said: "The EFL is working closely with other football bodies to ensure that playing the game at both a professional and grassroots level is as safe as it can be. "This work includes ongoing research, education programmes for professional players and changes to the game itself, such as the use of concussion subs. "We continue to actively engage in discussions to ensure that those who have been impacted by this issue receive support."
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.
The Independent
29-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
MPs urged to address ‘scandalous' dementia support for families of ex-footballers
Campaigners are calling 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 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 £1m. "(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."
