England’s 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst wants heading balls banned for children amid dementia deaths in football

Sir Geoff Hurst wants to see children banned from heading balls amid a concerning rate of dementia cases in football.

Hurst’s 1966 World Cup-winning England teammates Jack Charlton, Martin Peters and Nobby Stiles suffered with the disease before passing away during the last two-and-a-half years.

Sir Bobby Charlton was also diagnosed with the illness earlier this month.

Hurst, who is supporting a campaign to have Smart Meters installed in homes to help elderly or vulnerable people, told talkSPORT 2: “Certainly evidence seems to grow.

“I’ve always thought, I’m going back a few years possibly, there are a high percentage of footballers that were suffering from dementia.

“Now, recent results are showing footballers are three-and-a-half times more likely to face dementia.

“I’ve been thinking sometimes about what I did in the past that could affect that. Sometimes it’s not during the game necessarily that you head a ball much.

“Some of the 90-minute games I played in, I would hardly head a ball at all. But it’s practising it.

“At West Ham we had a ball hanging from the ceiling in the gym and we spent hours playing head tennis.

“Then you go on the pitch and you practise near post headers that we [England] were well known for.

“How long did we spend practising that day in, day out to perfect it? It resulted in a great goal against Argentina in the quarter-final.

“There is an element stressing two things. One, not doing so much practising on headers at clubs and two, maybe the youngsters, who are 10, not heading balls when their brains are underdeveloped.

“I don’t think that would have a negative impact on kids and parents enjoying grassroots football.

“So there are a couple of things to look at. But what we’re looking at is even more research into how dementia is ruining people’s lives.”

Hurst’s header brought England level against West Germany in the World Cup final as he went on to score a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at Wembley.

Asked if he was worried about his own health considering his former teammates’ battles with dementia, Hurst replied: “It’s concerning to a degree, but I wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it.

“What I’ve always thought, even prior to this dementia with my teammates passing, that growing old, I’m 79 soon, is a lottery on what you get as an older person. It comes with ageing.”