‘I think he would be proud’: Son of Manchester United legend Nobby Stiles on why he will never stop fighting football’s dementia crisis

It is now more than five years since Nobby Stiles passed away but his son, John, is in no doubt what he would say to him if he was still alive today.

‘He’d tell me I was a silly bugger,’ explains the son of the World Cup winner. ‘But I think he would be proud of what we are trying to do – he always rooted for the underdog.’

‘We’ refers to Stiles and an ever-growing group of ex-players who are attempting to finally force football to tackle its dementia crisis. For the likes of the Premier League, FA and PFA – in the light of overwhelming evidence – to look after its own.

The fight has been a long one. In late 2020, weeks after Nobby’s death, Stiles teamed up with Chris Sutton and Daily Mail Sport as we launched a campaign which scored some victories, but the battle continues. 

Stiles, himself a former midfielder with the likes of Leeds United and Doncaster Rovers, had long thought his father’s dementia had been caused by heading footballs during his career. 

After the family made the difficult decision to send Nobby’s brain to Professor Willie Stewart, who has led the way in researching the link, they had confirmation. ‘His brain was riddled with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated head trauma,’ John explains.

Nobby’s brain was ‘riddled with chronic traumatic encephalopathy’ before he died, says John

‘My dad will have headed the ball between 70,000 and 100,000 times over his career. It was there, plain and simple.’ 

Prof Stewart’s research, at the University of Glasgow, remains ongoing but the findings so far is that ex-players are three and a half times more likely than the rest of the population to suffer from neurodegenerative disease. Some believe that number could be as much as five times. And therein lies the problem.

‘There are 55,000 ex-players,’ John says. ‘The average in the population at large who suffer from dementia is around eight and 10 per cent. That means that if its three and a half times and not five times, 16,000 of those will get dementia and need help.

‘We’ve estimated that at the moment you would be looking at £40m a year to make sure everyone is looked after.’

In 2023, a football dementia fund was set up by the PFA and Premier League. It totalled £1m-a-year. ‘It doesn’t even touch the sides,’ says John. ‘It’s an insult. We still have families having to sell everything they have to fund care costs. 

‘And to give you an idea of how much the PFA cares, they didn’t even send anyone to Gordon McQueen’s inquest (where Prof Stewart told those he had found CTE when he had examined the former Scotland and Manchester United man’s brain).’

Some, who will have seen their own relatives’ homes and life savings vanish thanks to care home costs, may ask why footballers should be treated differently than the rest of the population.

‘There is a very strong chance that the dementia was caused by their profession,’ Stiles explains. ‘If you thought your mum or dad’s illness had been caused by his job, you would want the employer, at the very least, to pay for their care. 

‘To minimise costs the PFA/PL £1m fund will only help if the player proves they have secured all available support and funding from the NHS and Social Care – so the taxpayer is paying for the casualties of the football industry. It’s scandalous.’

A year ago, Stiles founded the Football Families For Justice group, on an emotional afternoon in Manchester attended by a host of well-known names. One, ex-Manchester United defender David May, admitted he was ‘scared stiff’ about what his own future holds.

John reckons his dad (far left) will have headed the ball between ‘70,000 and 100,000 times’ 

There have since been meetings with government, including the likes of culture secretary Lisa Nandy and warm words from the Prime Minister in the House. The mayors of Manchester and Liverpool, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, are onboard. 

This week, letters have been sent to the Prime Minister in support of the cause by Sir Geoff Hurst, Kevin Keegan, Graeme Souness and Mark Lawrenson. Sir David Beckham has already provided his backing.

‘The government say they want a resolution to this by the end of February and we hope that will happen,’ John says. ‘But I think the odds are against it. It’s like David and Goliath.  We’re fighting a massive industry, we’re fighting institutions, institutions that have just fobbed it off completely. 

‘For me it’s akin to the Post Office scandal and Big Tobacco. I think the government involvement is encouraging. If we don’t get anywhere then I guess there’s the threat of legislation and Government intervention forcing the issue. 

‘England’s national game should be the world leader in the care provided to players, men and women. The PFA charity, for example, has got £55m in it which, to my mind, is just sitting there. We need a large fund and we need it immediately. 

‘And it’s not just for care home costs. We need to bring Mike Lyons back from Australia so he can be near his family. The PFA told them if he comes home and claims he’s homeless he might be able to claim benefits. Can you believe that? 

‘There are people in need all over the country. We’d like to have been able to say to Christine Gilliver, who had support from the PFA stopped the moment Allan (ex-Huddersfield Town and Bradford City) needed full-time care, that she didn’t have to use his pension any more or wash dishes in the care home to help. 

‘We’d like to say to Natalie Parkes (daughter of Blackburn Rovers’ stalwart Tony) that you don’t have to give up everything and sell everything to look after your dad’s care.

”We’d like to be able to say to all the families, already dealing with the devastation of dementia, that they don’t have to add the worry of money on top of everything else they are dealing with. 

‘We’d like to extend afternoons when ex-players gather at their old clubs to reminisce about their careers and when life seems normal again for an hour. We now also have the support of Steph Houghton, the former Lionesses captain, which is big. The PFA fund makes no provision for women players and they are even more vulnerable than men to brain injuries.’

John says the PFA didn’t send anyone to Gordon McQueen’s inquest – he too battled dementia

It is not just those players of yesteryear at risk. Stiles believes the recent shift at the very top of the game to a more direct style will have an impact. ‘They’ll be heading the ball even more in training,’ he says. 

‘And while the balls are lighter than in dad’s day, adidas advertised the ball at the last World Cup as the fastest ever. If you head the ball from a free-kick or corner, it has 80 per cent the power of a boxing punch. We’ve still got a massive problem.’

The resolution appears relatively simple. The group want to see a football-funded charity set up which would then pay for the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed. That fund would address the considerable amounts – thousands of pounds per month – needed to cover the brutal sums triggered when there is no other option than for a loved one to enter a care home.

‘This is an opportunity for the likes of the Premier League and the PFA to lead the world in treating the players and families with respect instead of contempt.’ Stiles says. ‘We will keep pushing. This has to be sorted.’

It is hard not to wonder if the spirit of Nobby, undersized battler who rose from the cinder pitches of working-class Harpurhey to dance on the pristine Wembley turf with the Jules Rimet in his hands and the world at his feet, continues to drive his son on.

‘He’d want us to keep fighting,’ says John. ‘We’ve not achieved anything yet. He was always a believer in doing the right thing. We believe we are doing the right thing.’