Nikki Trueman: "The PFA has previously started studies but nothing has come to fruition. [We need] as many people as we can to come forward, not just professionals, but grassroots, Sunday league players, it is going to affect everybody"
Tuesday 24 November 2020 15:31, UK
Nikki Trueman, daughter of Chesterfield's all-time leading goalscorer Ernie Moss, has called on the Football Association (FA) and The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to provide more support towards the research into the links between dementia and football.
Trueman criticised the governing bodies for a lack of action and warned that anyone involved in the game, from grassroots to professional level, could be affected by the condition.
Nobby Stiles passed away last month, following Jack Charlton, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson as England 1966 World Cup heroes to have died after suffering from the same illness, while Jack Charlton's brother Sir Bobby Charlton has also recently been diagnosed with dementia.
Trueman's father Moss, a club legend at Chesterfield, was diagnosed with dementia in October 2014 and was admitted to a care home on Christmas Eve in 2019. He has since contracted and survived coronavirus but his deteriorating condition means he is now unable to talk.
"He was a renown header of the ball and there was many a time I have seen him have his head stitched up at the side of the pitch," she told Sky Sports News.
"He would come home with concussions, back in those days there wasn't the protocol that there is now. Not so much the heavy ball that people keep mentioning, but more the understanding of what was happening."
Trueman also insists more awareness needs to be raised especially around how dementia affects younger age groups.
"The PFA has previously started studies but nothing has come to fruition. [We need] as many people as we can to come forward, not just professionals, but grassroots, Sunday league players, it is going to affect everybody," she said.
"It's not just something that is going to die away with the older professional generation. Younger players are now seeing signs.
"I've had some abuse with people saying 'my grandma has dementia, she has never headed a ball in her life', the point is that these players are getting it in their 50s, that is not normal.
"Football in general, the supporters, the clubs, they have been amazing. The support and money raised has been amazing. The only places it is lacking is the FA, the PFA, the higher up you go, the less support you get."
