England's 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles died with a condition caused by repeatedly heading footballs, a coroner has found. The inquest concluded that Stiles' severe dementia was primarily caused by Alzheimer's disease, with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) also identified as a factor.
Consultant neuropathologist Du Plessis stated that CTE is caused by head injuries and expressed conviction that Stiles' frequent heading of the ball throughout his career led to his CTE. The senior coroner officially recorded Alzheimer's disease and CTE as the causes of Stiles' death, also noting that a condition known as "stage three limbic predominant age related TDP-43" and cerebrovascular disease were contributing factors.
"In this case, it is quite clear that Mr Stiles had advanced dementia and he died of his dementia - that is the primary cause of death here," Du Plessis told the inquest. "Added to the mix was CTE - we know it is caused by people who have head injuries." The neuropathologist confirmed on the balance of probability that heading the ball was the cause of Stiles' CTE.
"This is a very complicated issue and it is important to use such a death to highlight – that we do now know repeated head injuries have an impact on the brain," Du Plessis added. The coroner's findings underscore the known impact of repeated head injuries on brain health.