Italian soccer club Como to limit heading in youth teams to protect brain health
Serie A club Como has introduced a new academy pathway to limit heading exposure for young players, aiming to protect brain health and improve technical development. The policy bans heading entirely for under-10s, introduces light rubber balls and monthly sessions for under-12s, and limits headers to five per session for older age groups. Former Manchester United defender Raphael Varane, now on Como's board of education, endorsed the measures, citing his own experiences with concussions and head impacts. The club's approach follows broader governance trends, including the English FA's plan to phase out heading for children under 12 by 2027. Como's head of development said the policy allows young players to focus on technical skills and learn heading safely.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection