Health risks to professional sportsmen back in the headlines

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The controversy about health risks for professional athletes has been stirred up again, following the collapse due to a cardiac arrest of soccer player Fabrice Muamba during a match at Tottenham last Saturday.

Doctors from both clubs as well, as a cardiac consultant who was in the stands, were quick to respond with efforts at resuscitation, but it was a close thing. At latest report Muamba is recovering, but he was effectively dead for more than an hour.

In cardiac arrest, the heart stops pumping and death results in minutes if the victim gets no medical attention. It always occurs suddenly, without warning, and it happens fairly often in those who have never shown any evidence of heart disease. In the aftermath of Saturday’s events, many are calling for more intensive screening of athletes, in hopes of preventing future episodes.

The cholesterol charity Heart UK is urging football authorities to take the lead in the instigation of such screening. Chief executive Jules Payne said that an inherited condition known as FH (familial hypercholesterolaemia) is one known cause of cardiac arrest that could be detected with proper screening.

Peter Scudamore, CE of the English Premier League, said that while there can never be any guarantees, the organisation will be taking every measure necessary to reduce the risks to players.

Plan for the future from Scottish football Fans

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Plan for the future from Scottish football Fans

Plan for the future from Scottish football Fans

Football supporters have a unique vision for league football in Scotland, and it includes larger attendance at games, better methods of funding, and increased competition.

The Scotland trust Supporters Direct Scotland aims to implement some of these changes by publishing their directive, The Fans’ Plan,’ that is filled with recommendations to help make league football more entertaining for fans in the country. The information contained inside is the result of two years of surveys conducted among fans and supporters.

The Fans’ Plan calls for:

greater competition within Scottish league football structures

equal funding for each team in a league

support for clubs by central league management to increase the average attendance by 20% by 2016, and achieve an average stadium capacity utilisation of 65% within 10 years

two leagues of 16 teams, and a qualifying league of 10 or a feeder league of 16

re-introducing the League Cup, with a mini-league qualifying format structured on a geographical basis with four teams in each group

improved training and professional development for all players including greater use of Modern Apprenticeships and post-career planning

the establishment and implementation of a strong club licensing scheme

SDS spokesperson, Alan Harris commented: “The future of Scottish league football lies in the hands of its supporters and Supporters Direct Scotland has gathered the views of fans for the past two years: the most comprehensive surveys of football supporters in recent times. Fans are clearly telling us, we want more competition, more even distribution of the available funds, investment in the game, especially developing its talent from grassroots, and a greater say for supporters in clubs and national football.”

Alan Harris added: “Our approach is fairly simple. It’s about creating a virtuous circle for the long-term benefit of Scottish football. Too much of the present has been driven by short-term fixes and quick wins. However, that approach is unravelling at every level of the game. The time is right to re-build the foundations of the game in Scotland. We are proposing that a combination of league re-structuring, a re-formatted League Cup and more even distribution of funds, can continue to attract the all-important television sponsorship, create more competition between clubs and widen the game’s attraction to bring supporters back. This is our path to more sustainable development of Scottish league football.”

 

Bolton pull together for Muamba

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Bolton Wanderers will pull together and hope for the best in the aftermath of midfielder Fabrice Muamba’s close brush with death last weekend. The match with Tottenham was called off when Muamba collapsed on the pitch and was rushed to the London Chest hospital. Following a cardiac arrest that left him technically dead for well over an hour, the 23-year-old was miraculously revived, and according to latest reports he is in a stable condition, but his long-term prospects are still uncertain.

Wanderers captain Kevin Davies has said he’s amazed and gratified by the quick response of medical personnel who saved Muamba’s life, as well as the sincere concern expressed by fans and players. Davies was the first team member to see Muamba in hospital, and told reporters that it was too soon to think about anything beyond the immediate future.

Davies was among the handful of players who turned out for training on Monday. He says the team is still pretty much in shock, but for himself and others the best thing to do is carry on; that’s what Muamba would want.

Team manager Owen Coyle has also expressed his appreciation for the overwhelming response from all quarters. In reference to the match scheduled for this Saturday with Blackburn Rovers, the first one since Muamba’s collapse, Coyle said that any team member who doesn’t feel ready for it will be excused. But, he says, whoever does take to the field will be doing their best for Fabrice and for the team

David Bernstein and the new England manager

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The chairman of the Football Association, David Bernstein is causing some people to worry about his decision to pick the next manager of theEnglandteam. The announcements recently by Fabio Capello that he would be leaving the team should have sounded alarms with many people as he departed with the words, “I am very interested to see who is going to come and replace me.” In retrospect it is clear to see that this was a power-play that Mr Capello was very much enjoying.

The decision to let Mr Capello go seems to be a more foolish one with each passing week.Englandhave experienced their first defeat in over 15 months since the manager’s departure and it was even at Wembley Stadium. The question many people are going to be asking themselves is why would a great manager go to work for the FA. Most football managers who are any good are already in employment and don’t really fancy going anywhere else.

Additionally, it is usually preferred that a native person takes the role of manager of theEnglandteam, but this is probably going to be impossible. The simple fact of the matter for the FA is that there isn’t a brilliant English manager just sitting at home waiting to be called up to manage the team. Furthermore, it has also been announced that the new manager is going to be being paid half the amount the Capello was getting. Considering all of these facts, it seems increasingly unlikely that a good replacement manager is going to be found for Capello.

It seems that Mr Bernstein thinks he is important enough to have the power to draw Harry Redknapp away from Tottenham Hotspur. It seems entirely improbable that Mr Redknapp would wish to move from this team to Wembley and he has not shown any interest in taking on the position just yet. The only person who is remotely qualified for the job who has come forward is Stuart Pearce, this is going to be bitterly disappointing to Mr Bernstein. Furthermore, Mr Pierce withdrew his application after just six weeks, stating that he was no longer interested in the job.

The FA have said that they have a shortlist of around five names that they are considering but many people are wondering who could possibly be on this list. There has been no announcement about the names and the FA have not issued a statement. The director of football development for the FA is Sir Trevor Brooking and he has stated that he would be able to work with Mr Redknapp if he was made the manager of the team despite professional differences they have had in the past.

The FA have said that there have not been any discussions about who they want to make the next manager of England, but the fact that Sir Trevor needed to make the statement seems rather contradictory to this point. If there had been no discussions then why would he feel it necessary to announce that he would not have a problem working with Redknapp. This should be a simple appointment, but the FA and particularly Mr Bernstein, have turned the whole affair into a fiasco and something that doesn’t look like it will be sorted out in the near future.

FA in no rush to find new England boss

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FA in no rush to find new England boss The Football Association have stated that there have not yet been any approaches made to candidates about becoming the next coach of the English football team.

Earlier in the month, Fabio Capello resigned from the position after he was forced to remove captaincy of the team from John Terry. Since his decision to leave, the team have been looking for a new captain to lead them into Euro 2012, and the other competitions to follow.

The coach for the under 21 team, Stuart Pearce, is currently in the position on a temporary basis and will hold the position when the team face the Netherlands this Wednesday. He has expressed an interest in taking over as the coach of the main team during the European Championship.

It is widely expected that Harry Redknapp is going to be named as the new coach, but he has said that he has not been in talks with anyone about taking over the position yet. Currently Mr Redknapp is the head of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

The chairman of the Football Association is David Bernstein and he has the responsibility of finding a new coach, along with the managing director of the club and its football development manager. Adrian Bevington is the managing director and he has said that internal discussions have been taking place, but no talks with potential coaches have happened yet.

Mr Bevington commented in a statement to Sky News, “We have had several conversations about who is going to replace Capello and we have asked the FA board to make a recommendation. It is important that people know that we are not close to making a decision just yet. No external bodies have been consulted about who we want as the next coach and we feel there is no real need to rush into a decision.”