Dementia in football – should it be recognised as an industrial disease?

Dementia in football – should it be recognised as an industrial disease?

By Sky News

In 2020, we lost two of England’s great football heroes. Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles had both suffered with dementia before their deaths.

It recently emerged that Jack’s brother Sir Bobby Charlton had also been diagnosed with the degenerative disease, reigniting the conversation about a possible link between it and the sport.

An investigation by our sport correspondent Martha Kelner found that more than half of the footballers who played for Burnley FC in their championship winning 1959/60 season have died from or are suffering with dementia.

On this edition of the Sky News Daily podcast, Jonathan Samuels speaks to Martha about it as we hear from some of their families who believe repeated heading of the ball was a contributing factor.

Anne McIlroy is the daughter of one of the club’s star players Jimmy McIlroy, Jimmy Robson played up front in the team and is joined by daughter Dany Robson, who now cares for her dad. Jon Pointer also speaks about his father, Ray Pointer, who developed the first signs of dementia in his mid-60s.

Daily podcast team:
Podcast producer - Annie Joyce
Podcast producer - Nicola Eyers
Podcast producer – Emma-Rae Woodhouse
Interviews producer - Oli Foster
Archive - Simon Windsor
Music - Steven Wheeler
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