England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles died with a brain condition caused by repeatedly heading a football, a coroner has ruled in a landmark inquest.
The Manchester United legend, who was a key member of Sir Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup-winning side, died in October 2020 at the age of 78 after living with severe dementia.
An inquest at Stockport Coroner’s Court heard Stiles is estimated to have headed a football around 140,000 times during his playing career.
Expert medical evidence concluded that while Alzheimer’s disease was responsible for his severe dementia, he had also developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as a result of repeated head impacts.
CTE is a progressive brain disease that has been associated with repeated trauma to the head and has become a major focus of concern in football in recent years.
Giving evidence, neuropathology expert Dr Daniel Du Plessis told the court he had no doubt repeated heading had caused Stiles’ CTE.
“I’m quite convinced his heading the football that many times has caused his CTE,” Dr Du Plessis said.
Senior coroner Alison Mutch asked: “You are saying repeated heading of the ball is the cause of his CTE?”
England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles died with a brain condition caused by repeatedly heading a football, a coroner has ruled in a landmark inquest
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“Yes,” Dr Du Plessis replied.
The ruling represents another significant development in the growing debate surrounding the long-term effects of heading footballs.
Stiles’ family have campaigned for years to secure greater recognition and support for former players living with neurodegenerative diseases.
His son, John Stiles, has previously said football “killed” his father and now leads the Football Families for Justice campaign group.
Nobby Stiles played nearly 400 times for Manchester United throughout his career
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The organisation is calling on football’s governing bodies to provide greater support for retired players and their families after Stiles was forced to sell his World Cup winner’s medal and other memorabilia to help fund his dementia care.
John is also among dozens of former footballers and relatives pursuing legal action against the Football Association, the Football Association of Wales and the English Football League.
The claim alleges the organisations were “negligent and in breach of their duty of care” by failing to adequately protect players from the long-term risks associated with repeated heading and head injuries.
Lawyers representing the claimants argue football authorities either knew, or should have known, about the potential dangers for decades.
The FA has previously rejected those claims.
Nobby Stiles died at the age of 78 in October 2020
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In submissions to the High Court earlier this year, lawyers acting for the governing body argued it had “not been established by science” that heading a football or suffering an “occasional” concussion leads to permanent brain damage.
Stiles’ case follows another high-profile inquest earlier this year involving former Manchester United, Leeds United and Scotland defender Gordon McQueen.
That hearing concluded heading the ball had also “likely” contributed to a brain injury that played a role in McQueen’s death.
Concerns over the issue have intensified since a landmark study, jointly funded by the FA and the Professional Footballers’ Association in 2019, found former professional footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die from neurodegenerative disease than people of a similar age in the wider population.
The FA has since introduced restrictions on heading in youth football and is phasing out deliberate heading for children up to under-11 level by 2026.
However, campaigners believe the latest inquest places fresh pressure on football’s governing bodies to do more for former players already living with the devastating consequences of neurodegenerative disease.
