UEFA has taken another important step to protect players’ health and safety by launching a concussion charter for teams taking part in the European men’s and women’s club and national team competitions.
Retired male elite rugby union players aged 50+ who suffered three or more rugby-related concussions during their career have no worse average cognitive function than those who had experienced no, one or two concussions, according to a new study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU), Premiership Rugby (PRL) and the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) have announced an action plan aimed at reducing the exposure to head impacts and concussion risk within men’s and women’s elite rugby matches and training in England.
World Rugby has announced details of a major programme that will further objective care of elite players returning to play following a confirmed concussion.
Starting this month, a panel of Independent Concussion Consultants (ICC) will be made available to the game to provide independent expert opinion on whether a player should return to play following the successful completion of the six-stage Graduated Return to Play process for elite competitions. The panel of ICC experts will be funded by World Rugby.
Since the beginning of IFAB’s permanent concussion substitute trial, we have seen several incidents where the new laws of the game have fallen short of their objective and jeopardised player health and safety. We write to ask for the existing trial to be extended in order to test in parallel temporary concussion substitutions as soon as possible.
English football will introduce heading guidance across every level of the professional and amateur game from the start of the 2021-22 season.
