Just earlier this week (4th March), research from the BBC shows that football in Scotland involves more heading of the ball than most European leagues and explores what this could mean for the players long term.
Scottish Premiership matches have far more headers than any other major league in Europe. On average, each Scottish league game has 42.5 headers, while the average from other top-flight leagues across the continent is 29.
But why is this? Some believe it is the Scottish Leagues' style, with the league typically using more crosses and long balls. Studies from Glasgow University show that fan culture could be an issue, with fans demanding the ball into the box early.
Graph of amount of headers per selected league - credit BBC
The Scottish league does not have the revenue to bring in high-quality players, so maybe the coaches' tactics could be another reason.
Researchers worry because repeated heading the ball has been linked to brain diseases such as dementia. You can see more of this in my upcoming Headed Impact documentary.
The Scottish FA is making progress, yes, you cannot take heading completely out of sport, but you can create limits as they have.
No heading is now allowed in Under-12s training, and in the professional game, heading is banned the day before matchday (matchday –1) and the day after a matchday.