The Football Association (FA) has announced that it will begin to gradually ban intentional heading in all team matches for children aged 11 and under. The idea was tested for about two years. Intentional heading will be punished with a free kick, writes Sports.ru with reference to the Daily Mail.

Children from 7 to 9 years old will stop playing with their heads from the next season, up to 10 years old – from the 2025/26 season, and up to 11 years old – from the 2026/27 season. From the age of 12, heading will be allowed.

“We continue to play a leading role in assessing and improving the safety of football.

Our aim is, among other things, to create greater technical ability for players to play with the ball at their feet, ensure more efficient use of playing time and reduce the amount of time the ball is in the air during a match,” the FA said in a statement.

The measure comes amid research suggesting former footballers are more likely to die from brain problems than the general public. For example, professional football players are three and a half times more likely to die from dementia than the average person of the same age, studies have reported.