Heading in football matches: descriptive analysis of heading events from 687 matches across age groups in English Academy and First Team men’s professional football

Objective: To describe the frequency, rates and contextual features of heading in matches across the English men’s elite football pathway.

Methods: This prospective observational cohort study coded purposeful heading events in English Premier League First Team (senior), Category 1 and Category 2 Academy matches played between April 2021 and June 2024. Using video analysis and predefined heading and match descriptors, the study focused on heading frequency, rates, preceding events and unintended head impacts occurring during heading events.

Results: A total of 687 matches were included in the analysis, yielding 26 510 purposeful heading events across 49 703 match minutes. Heading rates/min increased by 13% per age group, from U9s to senior levels, rising from 0.167 to 0.875 headers/min. Central defenders exhibited the highest heading frequency, accounting for 34.2%–36.3% of all heading events. The most common preceding event leading to a header was a long pass. Unintended head impacts during heading events were infrequent (31 occasions, <1% of all purposeful heading events), with the highest incidence (1 per 971 match minutes) observed in senior players and the lowest incidence (1 per 1852 match minutes) observed in foundation (under 9s to under 11s) players. Six players were removed from play following medical assessment.

Conclusions: This is the first published study to report heading rates across an entire elite, men’s football pathway. The findings support data-informed decisions regarding heading exposure in elite male footballers and provide valuable insights for those preparing players for the demands of the elite game at different age levels. Unintended head impacts during heading events occurred more frequently in senior players. Further research is needed to understand the variability in heading exposure throughout an individual player’s development pathway and any potential clinical ramifications.