Brandi Chastain donates her brains to head damage science

Chastain said he has ignored “more than half a dozen concussions” in the past and is still suffering from them. “There are definitely days when I turn a corner and think: 'Why did I walk into this room?'” the former international told the New York Times. I've certainly thought from time to time that this has something to do with playing football for forty years. I often think about the consequences of this over the next twenty years. Whether I will continue to be fully employed and still be able to do the things I need and want to do.

Chastain's goal in 1999 and the United States' World Cup win had a major impact on the popularity of women's soccer in the United States, where more than two million women play soccer today. However, Chastain believes donating her brain would be even more important. “People talk about the Group of 99 and what it did for women's football. They call it a legacy for the next generation. But this would be a more important legacy. Something that could save some children.” The American is trying to persuade other professional footballers to do the same.

Less strong neck

In November 2015, researchers from Purdue University concluded that female soccer players are more at risk than male players when heading the ball. The difference has to do with less developed neck muscles, Dutch neuropsychologist Erik Matzer told De Volkskrant at the time. “A lower-level soccer player reacts more strongly to a header. This is due to smaller neck muscles. A stronger neck is a factor. With a less strong neck, that touch has a greater impact on brain tissue,” says Matser.

According to the US study, women who play soccer, about 150,000 in the Netherlands, are at risk of brain damage to the same extent as highly trained male soccer players.

After a lawsuit in November, headbanging was banned for under-10s in the United States. It was not prohibited for children under the age of 14, but since then less training has been given. According to Chastain and several of her colleagues, these rules go no further: “I love sports.” Injuries are part of sports in some way. But if you can protect children, you should do so.