Following an inquest into the death of the 1966 World Cup icon - a coroner plans to write to the FA about the dangers of heading
Nobby Stiles - pictured in 2008 - died of severe dementia in 2020(Image: PA)
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England football icon Nobby Stiles may have headed the ball more than 136,000 times in his career, an inquest has heard, as a coroner ruled his death was ‘significantly contributed’ to by a brain condition caused by repeated headers.
The tough-tackling former Manchester United and Three Lions midfielder and defender Norbert ‘Nobby’ Stiles died in the Autumn of 2020, aged 78.
Born in Collyhurst in 1942, he made 395 appearances for United between 1960 and 1971 and earned 28 England caps, including playing every minute during the legendary World Cup winning campaign of 1966.
He had been suffering from dementia with his family claiming he had to sell some of his precious medals to pay for his care, before he died on October 30, 2020 at the care home in Urmston where he had been living.
An examination of his brain following his death revealed that along with Alzheimer’s Disease, he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) - a progressive brain disease linked to repeated head injuries or blows to the head.
Stiles is a United and England legend(Image: Getty Images)
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The presence of the disease in former footballers has been linked to repeated heading of the ball. Nobby’s son John Stiles has previously claimed that heading a ball ‘killed’ his father.
John set up the Football Families for Justice group, which has been campaigning for the football authorities to provide financial support to the families of players who suffered dementia and neurodegenerative diseases.
An inquest into Nobby’s death was today (Wednesday, July 15) held at Stockport Coroner’s Court before Senior coroner Alison Mutch.
She said the CTE had ‘significantly contributed’ to his death and that she was ‘entirely satisfied’ that the reason he developed the condition was due to ‘repeated heading of the ball.’
Nobby's son John Stiles speaking outside Stockport Coroner's Court
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She says she now plans to write to the Football Association (FA) and the Department of Education regarding the dangers of heading the ball.
Giving evidence at the hearing, John Stiles said his dad ‘didn’t specifically talk about it’ but that Nobby used to take him to United’s Cliff training ground as a kid and had spoken to teammates of his dad’s and that he was aware of the ‘heading regimes.’
He said most people tended to discuss potential brain damage in relation to headers in games ,but that most players would only likely head the ball around 10 times in a match.
However, Mr Stiles said that by even a ‘very conservative’ estimate his dad would have headed a ball 40 times a day, five days a week, each ten month season across a 17-year career, which meant he could have headed the ball more than 136,000 times.
“They would head the ball that many times, they would not be able to count it,” he said. “It wasn’t forced upon them” he continued. They were enjoying being footballers. It was exciting. What they obviously didn’t know was what was happening every time they headed a football.”
Stiles played every minute of England's 1966 World Cup campaign(Image: Getty Images)
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Mr Stiles said old-style balls weighed roughly the same as modern balls but that ‘old balls used to get wet.’ However he said modern balls had much more velocity and that he had seen research which shows that heading a modern ball from a corner could have ‘80 percent of the power of a boxer’s punch.’ “It is a major concern to myself and others,” he said.
Mr Stiles said they began noticing in Nobby’s fifties and early 60s that he was ‘forgetting things’ and that it was a ‘slow progression’ where things got ‘worse and worse.’
He said there was a ‘feeling of doom’ in the family and that in 2010 Nobby decided to sell his medals as he ‘didn’t know what was coming but knew something was coming.’
He said his father also suffered from anxiety. “It was very difficult for all of us,” he said. “You just couldn’t reason with him. And, to be honest, he was frightened.”
Nobby's son said he likely headed the ball more than 136,000 times(Image: Mirrorpix)
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He added it was ‘amazing how similar the things have been’ to the experiences of other footballers and their families he had spoken to.
He said when he moved into a care home it was a ‘very difficult decision and a difficult time.’ And he said by the time of his death ‘he was a mess really.’
The court was told that at the time of his death he was ‘severely disabled through dementia’ including being ‘bed bound, immobile and mute’ along with ‘swallowing difficulties.’
Mr Stiles was visibly emotional as he paid tribute to his dad saying he was a ‘very humble’ man. He said his success in the game ‘never changed him’ and that he was ‘very much a family man’ who ‘left football at the door.’
Renowned neuropathologist Dr Du Plessis, who examined samples of Nobby’s brain after his death was referred to the coroner in 2024, said Mr Stiles had a ‘complex mix of conditions’ but said there was ‘absolute proof’ he was suffering from ‘high stage CTE.’
He also said that he was ‘quite convinced his heading the football that many times has caused his CTE.’
He said that whilst he believed that Alzheimer’s Disease was the primary cause of his death, he had ‘no doubt that some of his dementia was contributed to by CTE.’
The doctor said the ‘bigger question’ was whether repeated ‘minor’ head injuries such as heading the ball could make people more susceptible to Alzheimer's,accelerate it or make it worse.
He said that question was currently ‘unanswered’ by science but was ‘being looked into.’
The coroner Ms Mutch ruled the primary cause of his death as Alzheimer’s Disease but said CTE, a form of late-onset dementia known as LATE and small vessel cerebrovascular disease.
She recorded a narrative conclusion that Nobby died of ‘natural causes in combination with CTE caused by repeated heading of the ball during his football career.’
She said Nobby was required to head the ball in training and matches ‘many times, many days of the week.’
“Unfortunately, that’s something that was something that was to have a profound impact obn him in later life.”
She said probably had ‘little idea’ and ‘gave little thought to the consequences’ as ‘it’s a really important part of his position.’
Talking about how his dementia left him disabled, Ms Mutch said: “For a man who graced the pitches of some of the world’s greatest football grounds, it is difficult to imagine a sadder way to end their life.’
She said she believed that the dangers of heading was an ‘ongoing issue’ and that she was satisfied she was ‘required in her law’ to raise her concerns with the FA and DofE.
In 2023, the players’ union the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the Premier League announced a £1 million fund to ‘assist former players, and their families, who have been impacted by dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions.’
In 2024, the FA also introduced a phased ban on deliberate heading in grassroots matches for under-11s and below.
However, speaking outside court, Mr Stiles said the coroner’s findings were ‘no surprise’ and that he believed it would be among ‘the first few of thousands of such inquests of players who have incurred brain injuries.’
He described it as an ‘epidemic’ but said there was still ‘massive ignorance’ as he called on the game to ‘do something to educate all youngsters, everyone who plays football about CTE.’
“We have to do something about it, drastically,” he said. “We don’t want to stop people heading the ball. But youngsters now are not informed about the risks. If someone is informed, then they can make a proper decision.”