Gordon McQueen death: Inquest finds heading ‘likely’ contributed to brain disease

In 2019 the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association jointly funded the ‘Field’ study, which found footballers were 3.5 times more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases.

The FA also jointly funds the Brain Health Fund, which provides up to £1m a year for families affected by neurological illness in footballers.

In 2022, the FA became the first national association to remove deliberate heading in grassroots football matches at U12 level and below.

But there are questions over whether the measures put in place are not being adhered to everywhere.

“We would like to make it a national campaign for heading to be reduced in training,” said Judith Gates, founder of Headsafe Football and widow of former Middlesbrough footballer Bill Gates, who died with CTE.

“CTE is only caused by repetitive head impacts. Therefore, how do you solve? You reduce the frequency. Most of the head impacts take place in training.

“The guidelines from the FA are out there but coaches don’t know them. We’ve worked with 44 EFL clubs and only one percent knew about them, and that’s just the professional game.

“This begins in youth, so it’s young people whose brains we need to be caring for.

“We want Gordon’s legacy, and my Bill’s legacy, to be safer football and for players in the future to enjoy the game we all love without the fear of brain disease.”

McQueen’s daughters believe football authorities should be bolder in tackling the problem for future generations.

“There are guidelines against heading in youth football and it needs to be implemented more, because it quite clearly isn’t,” Hayley said.

“They need help from footballing authorities, but there also potentially needs to be changes to legislation and education. Yes balls used to weigh more, but they move faster now.

Hayley’s sister Anna added: “I think the football authorities are scared. They’re not sure what the best approach is, but I think now there’s more evidence that it does impact players, they’ve got to do more. They’ve got to stand up and make a change.

“Football is a beautiful sport but it doesn’t need to take people’s lives.”

A spokesperson for the PFA told BBC Sport: “There is an ongoing need for a collective response, from football and beyond, to ensure former players affected by neurodegenerative disease, and their families, are properly recognised and supported.

“That includes the need for clarity on the status of conditions linked to repetitive head impacts, which is something we are continuing to pursue urgently with government, football’s authorities and player representatives from other sports.”