A ban on heading for under 10s has put an end to legal action.
A group of US parents who sued several football organisations, including international governing body FIFA, is no longer pursuing legal claims because of steps taken to address the issue of concussions suffered by youth players.
The lawsuit, filed last year in federal court in California, said FIFA and other groups such as the American Youth Soccer Organization have not done enough to reduce preventable injuries from repetitive ball heading.
Earlier this year, a judge dismissed the lawsuit but gave the plaintiff a chance to refile it with additional detail on some claims. Meanwhile, the U.S. Soccer Federation and other groups developed a new initiative to limit heading for children under 14 years old and implement other concussion awareness efforts, according to a joint statement.
"With the development of the youth concussion initiative by US 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," said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Australian players and coaches divided
Some Australian coaches are teaching players how to head the ball safely from a young age.
Jose Bello has played football professionally in Spain and now runs workshops with the Soccajoeys in Sydney's West.
A class of three-to-five year olds practice their skills, including heading, using foam footballs.
"It's a fun part of the game and an essential part of the game so they don't develop a fear of heading the ball and it's something that's safe and something they're going to have to do later on in life," Mr Bello said.
But heading isn't part of the curriculum for players under the age of 10 at the Australian Youth Football Institute.
David Perkovic works with talented young athletes and said it's not necessary for them to learn those skills when they're younger.
"The probability of a child heading the ball on a small sided game is a lot less than what you would on a larger pitch," said Mr Perkovic.
"So we focus our development on footwork and other areas of the body to control the ball."
A spokesperson for Football Federation Australia said:
"[Heading] is progressively introduced when players move to a full size field from the age of 12. FFA is closely monitoring the research being carried out in relation to heading the ball."
Share
