US Soccer ban heading the ball for children over fears of concussion and head injuries

Heading the ball has been banned in the United States for children aged 10 and under over concussion fears, US Soccer has announced.

The rule changes that have been confirmed by the governing body come after a lawsuit against them called for action to be taken after nearly 50,000 concussions were recorded among high school football players in 2010 – more than those recorded in baseball, basketball, softball and wrestling combined.

In a bid to protect young children playing the game, US Soccer has unveiled a number of new initiatives that will address head injuries in the sport, most noticeably banning the act of heading a football until the age of 11, and even then restricting the number of headers in practice for 11 to 13 year-olds.

Other changes will include a modification of the substitution ruling. At present, international rules only allow three substitutions per game, but they could be amended to allow temporary replacements to carry out medical tests with confirmation set to come in the next 30 days.

However, while the ban will come into effect for all US Soccer youth national teams and academies including the Major League Soccer youth clubs, they can only be implemented as recommendations for other football associations that do not fall under US Soccer’s control.

George Chiampas, US Soccer’s chief medical officer, confirmed in a conference call with reporters on Monday: “What we’re establishing is creating parameters and guidelines with regards to the amount of exposure [to potential head injuries]”. Chiampas also stressed that US Soccer's policies would continue to develop as medical insight into concussion in sport progressed.

The alteration of the substitutions rule would echo that seen in rugby union, with World Rugby [formerly the International Rugby Board] implementing a Head Injury Assessment [HIA] for any player who has suffered an impact to the head.

open image in gallery

Players are allowed to leave the field for a five-minute HIA with a replacement allowed on in their place to keep a side at 15 players, and should the player pass medical tests then they are allowed to return to the field of play. Should they fail the tests by showing signs of a concussion or a head injury, then they are not allowed back onto the field and are made to go through a recovery process before being allowed to play again.

The announcement from US Soccer comes at a time when American football finds itself at the centre of a national controversy over concussions. The NFL – as well as the NCAA and ice hockey’s NHL – faced lawsuits over head injuries, and US Soccer actions has resolved the individual case brought against them in August 2014.

A group of parents and players filed a class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court of California against Fifa, US Soccer and the American Youth Soccer Organisation with negligence in treating and monitoring head injuries, although this was later amended to a complaint against US Soccer after a judge ruled last summer that the case against Fifa had no standing.

The lawsuit sought no financial damages but only rule changes, and the lawyer who brought the case, Steve Berman, has confirmed that there will not be an appeal against the resolution as the intentions of the group have been accomplished.

“With the development of the youth concussion initiative by U.S. Soccer and its youth members, we feel we have accomplished our primary goal and, therefore, do not see any need to continue the pursuit of the litigation,” Berman said in a statement.