Can soccer hurt a Young Person’s Brain?

Do you have any idea how lethal this sport is for kids? Well do you! It's worse than TikTok!

Soccer Can Hurt a Young Person’s Brain

‘The beautiful game’ would be more so if players weren’t encouraged to hit the ball with their heads.

By David B. Agus, WSJ

June 19, 2026 5:33 pm ET

I remember standing on the sidelines on countless weekend mornings watching my children play youth soccer. Like almost every parent, I cringed whenever my child or another player headed the ball. Around me, I saw the same expression: a tightened jaw, a wince, a silent hope that the child would be fine.

Parents aren’t imagining the risk. The American Youth Soccer Organization has already recognized it and put limits in place, including a heading ban for players 12 and under. A deliberate header results in an indirect free kick. For 13- and 14-year-olds, heading practice is limited to 30 minutes a week, with no more than 20 headers a player.

These rules acknowledge that children’s brains deserve protection. But they also force a bigger question: Why should that protection fade in high school or college? Brain development doesn’t end at 12, 14 or even 18. The prefrontal cortex, the brain’s “command center,” doesn’t finish developing until the mid- to late 20s.

The evidence connecting soccer and cognitive disease is too concerning to ignore. A 2019 study compared 7,676 male former professional soccer players with more than 23,000 matched controls and found that former players had an approximately 3.5-fold higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease. A 2023 cohort study contrasted more than 6,000 top-division male soccer players with more than 56,000 matched controls. It found a higher risk of dementia among players, with the signal concentrated in all but goalkeepers. That clue matters: Goalkeepers collide and dive, but they rarely head the ball.

Doctors used to worry almost exclusively about concussions, but most headers don’t produce a concussion diagnosis. The greater danger may be subconcussive impacts, which don’t trigger a sideline exam and are forgotten by dinner. But biology records what memory doesn’t. Biomarker and imaging studies are beginning to show what parents and coaches can’t see. In a randomized controlled trial of 15 male soccer players, a heading task was associated with changes in brain chemistry and function, plus elevations in biomarkers linked to brain-tissue injury. A 2026 study of roughly 300 male amateur players found temporary increases in brain-damage markers after heading, with stronger effects after frequent and high-impact headers. Similar findings were produced by a 2025 study of female elite soccer players. This isn’t a reason for panic, but a call for prevention.

Medicine has learned that the body keeps score even before symptoms appear. When brain tissue is hit, cells respond and repair systems turn on. Inflammation can heal, but if impacts are repeated it may result in a destructive cascade. For children, teenagers and college-age athletes, the burden of proof should be on those who insist repetitive head impacts are safe. Lead, asbestos and tobacco taught doctors that waiting for perfect proof of harm can lead to tragedy. The brain is no different and can suffer invisible, cumulative injury over time.

AYSO’s rules are a step in the right direction, but they should be treated as the floor, not the ceiling. High schools, clubs, colleges and governing bodies should track heading exposure, limit headers in training, and eliminate repetitive heading drills. For younger children, the answer is zero heading. For older adolescents and college players, heading should be rare, monitored and limited, not celebrated as proof of courage.

Some argue that restrictions on heading will weaken American players. I believe the opposite. The athleticism, imagination and strategy of players, not young athletes striking the ball with their heads, is what makes soccer “the beautiful game.” Limiting headers would force better coaching and produce players who are more technical, creative and aware. The best soccer isn’t a contest of skulls, but a contest of intelligence. Soccer can remain beautiful without asking children, teenagers or college athletes to pay for it with their brains.

Dr. Agus is the founding CEO of the Ellison Medical Institute and a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California.