There is now widespread evidence that years of heading, tackling and collisions in football and rugby could increase the risk of dementia and other neurological diseases.

The latest – preliminary research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in July 2026 – examined 142 former professional footballers aged 30 to 60, and 56 people of a similar age who had no history of contact sports or repeated head impacts.

The two groups performed similarly on objective cognitive tests, which measure abilities such as memory, attention and decision-making. The middle-aged retired footballers self-reported having worse mood, higher levels of anxiety and poorer cognition.

MRI brain scans were available for 124 of the former players and 40 non-players. On average, the footballers had less grey matter in several regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making and emotional regulation. Grey matter is brain tissue containing many of the nerve cells that process information.

These findings deserve attention, although they do not show that football caused the differences or that all players will develop dementia. The results are preliminary, have not yet undergone full peer review, and come from a study conducted at one point in time. Researchers will need to follow the participants for years to establish whether their symptoms or brain changes progress.

Read more: Sport-induced traumatic brain injury: families reveal the ‘hell’ of living with the condition

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