Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Paragraph: 48
Football’s engagement with the issue of concussion, both in England and internationally, has taken too...
Conclusion
Football’s engagement with the issue of concussion, both in England and internationally, has taken too long and its current prominence is due to the campaigning of organisations like the Jeff Astle Foundation and prominent spokespersons like Chris Sutton. We would have expected the Football Association, as the National Governing Body, to have taken a stronger, sustained interest in the issue after the coroner’s verdict of Jeff Astle’s death. We would also have expected the Football Association to have been publicly hounded by the Professional Footballers’ Association, whose key concern should be player welfare. Over the past 20 years neither the Football Association nor the Professional Footballers’ Association have fought hard enough, or publicly enough, to address this issue within the broader football community. They are, however, only part of a broader failure to address the issue of acquired brain injury in sport.
Paragraph Reference:
48
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government agrees with these recommendations. The actions set out in this report demonstrate the level of ambition held by this Government to ensure sport is as safe as possible for all participants. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport intends to provide updates on progress with its concussion in sport initiatives through its Government Sport Strategy annual report.