Our chronicle of some of the players affected by dementia includes several members of England’s 1966 World Cup squad
Jeff Astle (1942-2002) The former West Bromwich Albion and England forward died in January 2002, aged 59. Later that year an inquest ruled that Astle’s death was the result of an industrial disease resulting from heading footballs. The verdict was the first of its kind on a professional sportsman in the UK.
Peter Bonetti (1941-2020) The former Chelsea and England goalkeeper died in April, aged 78. Known as “The Cat” because of his agility, Bonetti, who made 729 appearances for Chelsea across two spells and represented his country at the 1970 World Cup, had Alzheimer’s for a long time. He was a member of England’s 1966 World Cup squad.
Written by Sachin Nakrani
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/nov/02/football-and-dementia-players-who-died-with-or-are-living-with-the-disease-england-1966 under the title “Football and dementia: players who died with or are living with the disease”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
