{"id":11886,"date":"2026-05-15T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=11886"},"modified":"2026-05-10T20:28:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:28:46","slug":"heading-in-football-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2026\/05\/15\/heading-in-football-matches\/","title":{"rendered":"Heading in Football Matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why is this study important?<\/b><\/p>\n

Heading in association football, is an intentional, direct impact between the head and the football and a fundamental skill that can significantly influence match outcomes.<\/span> Heading in football continues to attract attention, particularly in relation to long term brain health, concussion risk, and youth participation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To support informed decision making, there is a need to increase our understanding of how often heading occurs in competitive play, how this changes across the player development pathway, and how frequently heading is associated with unintended head impacts and concussion risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

This <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> addresses these gaps by providing largescale, real-world data on purposeful heading across the English men\u2019s elite football pathway, from a player\u2019s entry into Academy football through to First Team Premier League matches (1). By quantifying heading exposure across ages, playing positions, and match contexts, and by documenting the incidence of unintended head impacts during heading events, the findings help ground contemporary discussions around heading exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did the study go about this?<\/b><\/p>\n

A prospective observational cohort study was completed using video analysis from\u00a0687 matches\u00a0played between April 2021 and June 2024. Matches spanned\u00a0Under 9 to First Team levels, including Category One and Two Academies and Premier League First Team competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trained analysts systematically identified all\u00a0purposeful heading events\u00a0using predefined operational definitions. For each event, analysts coded the\u00a0preceding match action\u00a0(e.g. long pass, clearance, cross, throw-in) and recorded whether an\u00a0unintended head impact\u00a0occurred during the heading event (e.g. head-to-head collision).<\/span><\/p>\n

Heading exposure was expressed as\u00a0headers per minute of match play. Comparative analyses were conducted across age groups, development phases, playing positions, and preceding events using\u00a0negative binomial regression, allowing examination of how heading exposure changes across the elite pathway.<\/span><\/p>\n

What did the study find?<\/b><\/p>\n

Across\u00a049,703 match minutes,\u00a026,510 purposeful heading events\u00a0were recorded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exposure increases progressively<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Heading exposure increased progressively and predictably with age, rising by\u00a0an average of 13% at each age group\u00a0from U9 to First Team level. Mean heading rates increased from\u00a00.167 headers per minute at U9\u00a0to\u00a00.895 headers per minute in First Team football. The\u00a0Foundation Phase (U9\u2013U11)\u00a0exhibited substantially lower heading rates than Youth Development (U12-16), Professional Development, (U18-U21) and First Team phases, highlighting a clear escalation in exposure as players progress through the pathway.<\/span><\/p>\n

This data set informs coaches and performance staff on the heading demands that players of different ages must be prepared for. It also provides important considerations for teams transitioning players, particularly those with accelerated individual development plans ahead of their regular peer groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing position matters<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Playing position was a major determinant of heading exposure.\u00a0Central defenders\u00a0consistently recorded the highest heading frequencies across all development phases, while\u00a0wide attackers and central attackers\u00a0recorded the lowest. These findings emphasise the importance of\u00a0position specific considerations\u00a0when discussing player preparation and education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Match context evolves with age<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Across all age groups, the most common preceding event leading to a header was a\u00a0long pass, followed by clearances, throw-ins, short passes, corners, and crosses. However, age specific profiles were evident.<\/span><\/p>\n

At\u00a0U9, 51% of all set play headers followed a throw-in, but this proportion decreased substantially by\u00a0U12 (to ~31% of all headers). In contrast, headers following free kicks increased between the same age groups from 8% to 18% of all set play headers. Heading rates following most preceding events increased as players progressed through the pathway, but particularly after\u00a0long passes and clearances. This likely reflects players\u2019 developing physical capability to execute longer passes as they mature through the age groups. Importantly, these preceding events (long passes and clearances) are associated with\u00a0faster ball speeds and higher heading forces, making them a key consideration for player preparation.<\/span> The profile of preceding events at younger ages (e.g greater proportion of throw-ins) may allow players to develop heading skills (such as ball tracking and timing of the header) in actions characterised by lower ball speeds, prior to progression.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unintended head impacts are rare<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Unintended head impacts (where a Player\u2019s head made contact with something other than the ball during purposeful heading events) were\u00a0infrequent, occurring in\u00a031 instances or <1% of all purposeful headers. Six players required removal from play following medical assessment. The highest incidence was observed in\u00a0First Team matches, with the lowest in the Foundation Phase.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the key take home messages?<\/b><\/p>\n