England manager Gareth Southgate will participate in a major study examining signs of neurodegenerative disease in former players as part of research to tackle football’s dementia crisis. Following the emphatic proof of football’s dementia link in 2019, the Football Association is currently supporting three projects which study the neurocognitive health of ex-players and, having recently turned 50, Southgate has offered his personal involvement. It will involve a series of questions about brain health and Southgate, a former centre-back who played 695 games for England, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, is also urging other former players to sign up. “This is an incredibly important issue in our game and I’m very happy to play my part in supporting this research,” said Southagte. “Having turned 50 last year, I am now eligible to take part. Our involvement is absolutely essential if we are to have a greater understanding of this issue and support for the studies can be done from home, either online or over the phone.” Southgate will specifically take part in the ‘Heading’ study, which is led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and funded by The Drake Foundation, and depends on the involvement of former players for robust data. The FA is also supporting a similar ‘Focus’ study by the University of Nottingham which is researching a pre-selected group. Both projects are independently-led research studies which examine ex-professionals for early signs of neurocognitive degeneration. Southgate said that they “could provide crucial and valuable insight to help people who play the game now and in the future” and that he would encourage any former footballer to follow his lead. Both studies are largely being conducted by phone and online, meaning that those involved may not even need to leave their home to take part in what are anonymous tests which largely involve answering questions by telephone or filling in a questionnaire. Following a campaign by The Telegraph, landmark research found that former professional footballers are 3.5 times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease and are specifically at a five-fold increased risk of Alzheimer’s and four times more likely to die of motorneurone disease.