“No need before 12 years old!” » This is the strong message from Raphaël Varane, 2018 World Champion, who is campaigning for a ban on heading games among children. “It’s an important and underestimated subject, it’s a rant to highlight the health of young people”explains the defender for RMC Sport. According to him, France is significantly behind on this subject compared to other countries: “there have been no new standards to make heading play safe for children. There is awareness about concussions, but there is still a lot to do”.
For Raphaël Varane, the solution involves a minimum age for heading and strict protocols in the event of concussion: “when the brain is in full development, there are precautions to take”. The former international also underlines the importance of making young players aware of the risks: “they need to be aware of the short and long term repercussions”. Although he cannot imagine headless football for adults, he insists on the need to limit unnecessary repetitions and better protect children: “at 8 or 9 years old, there is no point in working on heading skills, we might as well preserve them”. The message got through.
