The possible link between repetitive heading and cognitive impairment in later life has again been highlighted in new data published on Monday.
The University of Nottingham’s FOCUS study, co-funded by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association, gathered information on heading frequency from 459 retired players aged 45 and over.
Players who recalled heading a ball 15 times or more per match or training session were found to be 3.53 times more likely to score below the test threshold in the cognitive status assessment than players who said they headed the ball up to five times, the FOCUS study found.
Players who recalled heading a ball six to 15 times were also 2.71 times more likely to score below the test threshold than the lowest-…
Shakhtar Donetsk chief exectuive Sergei Palkin has accused football agents of exploiting the war in Ukraine to negotiate the transfers of foreign players, amid FIFA s extension of concessions for foreign players registered in the country.
Earlier this week, FIFA extended temporary regulations which allowed foreign players in Ukraine to play elsewhere. Shakhtar are a special case even within this context, with the club unable to play at their home of the Donbass Arena since 2014.
The Ukrainian domestic league was suspended in February, with a restart in August mooted.
Shakhtar s Marlos, Dentinho and Junior Moraes returned to Brazil in loan deals and Tete secured a loan move to Olympique Lyon,while Dynamo Kyiv s Vitinho and Carlos de Pena also left for Brazil …
Chelsea could decide to part ways with Ian Maatsen in the January transfer window, according to The Telegraph. The Blues have failed in several attempts at agreeing terms of a new contract with the 21-year-old left-back, and with his current deal expiring at the end of the season, it is expected that they ll try to get at least some kind of fee for his services, in order not to lose him next summer without compensation.
Maatsen passed through the youth ranks of several Dutch clubs, including Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven, before joining Chelsea s Under-18 outfit in 2018. Since then, he s had loan spells with Charlton Athletic, Coventry and Burnley. This summer, he was promoted to the senior Chelsea squad and has so far made four Premier League appearances, all o…
Fabio Vieira is thrilled to be joining one of the biggest clubs in the world after completing his move from Porto to Arsenal.
The 22-year-old midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Gunners, who will pay Porto a reported £30million (€35m) fee with a further £4.2m (€5m) in add-ons.
With Arsenal falling just two points short of their first top-four Premier League finish since the 2015-16 season last term, losing out to local rivals Tottenham after losing two of their final three games of the campaign, boss Mikel Arteta had targeted midfield reinforcements.
Vieira, who recorded more assists (14) than any other Porto player in the 2021-22 Primeira Liga campaign, is the man selected by Arsenal to provide extra creativity, and he says the Gunners …
Eljif Elmas scored twice as Napoli earned a spot in the play-offs for the Europa League last 16 with a 3-2 win over Leicester City, who fall into the Europa Conference League.
Leicester travelled to Naples knowing they would guarantee a top-two finish in Group C if they could avoid defeat, but first-half strikes from Adam Ounas and Elmas put the hosts ahead on Thursday.
Jonny Evans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall quickly restored parity in a chaotic opening 45 minutes, only for Elmas to net again after the break and decisively edge Napoli back in front.
Luciano Spalletti s side settled for second – with Spartak Moscow defeating Legia Warsaw, following a 98th-minute penalty save, to top the group – and go into a two-legged play-off in February, while the third-place…
Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise continued as he was awarded the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21 in world football.
The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy at the Ballon d’Or event in France, where the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award.
Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday.
Jude Bellingham won the 2023 Kopa Trophy, congrats
— Ballon d Or #ballondor (@ballondor)
The Kopa Trophy was awarded for his form last season, when Bellingham helped Borussia Dortmund to finish second in the Bundesliga and starred for England at the World Cup in Qatar.
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Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged it will be difficult for any club to win the Premier League title whilst Pep Guardiola remains in charge of Manchester City.
Chelsea face the champions at Stamford Bridge on Sunday seeking a fourth win in six games in the league, but go into the game 11 points behind Guardiola’s treble winners having finished a colossal 45 points back last season.
Despite spending over £1billion on signings during the 18 months that owner Todd Boehly has been at the helm, the club have slid away from the league’s summit in that time, dropping from third place at the end of the 2021-22 campaign to 12th last season.
Pochettino has consistently defended results and performances since he took over in July, emphasising that despite the huge outlay…
Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri acknowledged the Bianconeri s slim title hopes were over despite Dusan Vlahovic s dramatic late equaliser against Bologna.
The Serbian striker scored the 50th goal of his Serie A career five minutes into stoppage time to spare the blushes of the Turin giants, who were on course for an embarrassing loss despite Adama Soumaoro and Gary Medel receiving late red cards for Bologna after Marko Arnautovic s second-half opener.
The result marked the first time Juventus have failed to defeat Bologna since February 2016 and left Allegri s men eight points behind league leaders Milan with just five games remaining, as their hopes of a 10th Scudetto in 11 seasons faded.
Juventus failed to register a single shot on target during a dism…
Lewandowski´s final game for Bayern? Barca linked as German giants fight to keep goal-machine strike
Bayern Munich are determined to keep Robert Lewandowski away from Barcelona s clutches as speculation mounts that the Polish striker will request a transfer.
After clinching a 10th consecutive Bundesliga title, Bayern were bringing down the curtain on their season as they travelled to face Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Lewandowski has been champion eight times with Bayern and twice previously with Borussia Dortmund, having left Lech Poznan in 2010 to try his luck in Germany.
Now he is reportedly keen on moving to Barcelona, and with only one year remaining on his contract Bayern are facing a quandary.
They could make fresh attempts to persuade him to sign an extended deal. If it has already passed that point, they could dictate to Lewandowski that he must stay…
Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta says coach Simone Inzaghi will absolutely remain with the Nerazzurri next season, and could become one of the best coaches in the game later in his career.
Inter s hopes of retaining the Serie A title were dealt a blow on Wednesday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Bologna, allowing rivals Milan to preserve their two-point advantage at the top of the table.
The Nerazzurri s reverse was their first on the road against bottom-half opponents since January 2021, with Marko Arnautovic and Nicola Sansone overturning the early lead established by Inzaghi s men when Ivan Perisic netted Inter s fastest Serie A goal of the season (two minutes and 53 seconds after kick-off).
However, Marotta remains adamant Inzaghi will remain at the c…