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Chamber and committees

Former Footballers Take Part in Glasgow's First Dementia Football Festival

  • Submitted by: Annie Wells, Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
  • Motion reference: S6M-02129

That the Parliament congratulates the more than 60 former football players, who are residents from eight care homes, who took part in Glasgow’s first dementia football festival at the Toryglen Regional Football Centre, where they were joined by the former Scotland manager, Craig Brown, ex-player, Gordon Smith, and John Rowbotham, who was previously a referee; understands that, in recent years, research has discovered a link between football and dementia, with a 2019 study suggesting that professional players were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than others of their same age group; acknowledges that the festival allowed participants to try out a circuit of activities, including a special reminiscing station, which was supported by Football Memories Scotland, a touch station, where they could play table football, a taking on the goalkeeper challenge and the opportunity to take part in a game; notes that the festival was part-funded by an award from Life Changes Trust, which is a charity that invests in and supports the empowerment and inclusion of people living with dementia and their unpaid carers, and acknowledges that the day brought people together and allowed the participants to be part of something that was meaningful to them and focused on what they could do rather than what they could not.


Supported by: Karen Adam, Clare Adamson, Miles Briggs, Alexander Burnett, Donald Cameron, Jackson Carlaw, Finlay Carson, Natalie Don, Bob Doris, Sharon Dowey, Pam Duncan-Glancy, Russell Findlay, Murdo Fraser, Meghan Gallacher, Maurice Golden, Pam Gosal, Jamie Greene, Dr. Sandesh Gulhane, Stephen Kerr, Bill Kidd, Douglas Lumsden, Fulton MacGregor, Ruth Maguire, Stuart McMillan, Edward Mountain, Alexander Stewart, Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Sue Webber, Tess White, Brian Whittle