A leading peninsula football coach is broadly in support of a ban on young players heading the ball but has called on the Suffolk FA to set out clear guidelines.

The FA issued a statement stating children of primary school age would be banned from heading a football in training, and youngsters between 12 – 16 would be subjected to a graduated approach, but no specific guidelines have been sent to coaches yet.

Paul Moore, chairman of Holbrook Hornets who also coaches the Under 12s and is a qualified referee, has urges the ruling body to clarify what is required, and when.

"The FA have announced that heading is banned for so far no guidance has come to clubs so, as clubs, we are not really sure how this works, what we are meant to tell coaches, so we wait on clarification from the FA," said Mr Moore.

"As a club, we will follow any guidance the FA give us and the welfare and safety of all the children at this club is of paramount importance to us. That is why it is important to get this clarification so we can train our coaches and staff.

"I was aware it was going to come in Scotland but it was quite a shock when I heard it was in England too as there had been no inkling whatsoever."

The ban is aimed at reducing repetitive and unnecessary heading in youth football, following research by the University of Glasgow showing a possible link between heading the ball and degenerative brain diseases such as dementia, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease.

America banned heading in youth football in 2015 and Scotland announced in January it was following suit. Football authorities in England and Northern Ireland have joined in, without any warning, but the Welsh FA has not joined the ban.

Mr Moore, who has two sons that play youth football, believes the heading ban could even be extended to matches.

"My personal feeling is it should be all or nothing for under 11s, there should not be any halfway house," said Mr Moore.

"If you are going to head the ball in a match then how do you teach them to head the ball safely? OK it may not happen that much but even so it is still going to occur in matches.

"I don't see the need for children to be heading the ball. We can adapt the game, especially at youth level.

"From all accounts in America, children just adapt. They use their chest more they learn to control the ball for from a corner and it has not really affected children in America."

One Hornets' parent, Lee Warner, who helps under-nines coach Andrew Humphrey on match days, believes today's football are less likely to cause the harm suffered by the older generation of players, but understand the need to protect youngsters like his son Bobby.

"My lad is under nine and when I watch them play I can see some of them don't head the ball anyway," said Mr Warner. "Some are not quite brave enough yet even though the balls are so soft these days.

"It is probably still not good to get the brain rattled around but they are a lot lighter than the old ones. I can remember my dad and grandad saying just how heavy the old leather balls were. These ones, OK it might sting a bit, but you are soon just back playing again.

"If the youngsters are taught how to head the ball properly and get some power behind it then fine. That said, you don't know how it will affect them in later life.

"As a parent, you don't wish any sort of brain injury on anyone, let alone your own children. We just don't know the effect heading could have, it's like the new vapes, you don't really know what effect they could have long term.

"If the ban is brought in then we will just have to follow it and hope it doesn't ruin the game."

Protecting players remains a priority but Mr Moore understands things will be dealt with differently at senior level for some time.

He said: "When you become 18 and you are not a child then you make your own choices.

"If it is proven heading can cause problems with dementia or motor neurone disease then any sport, or society, need to prioritise the welfare and safety of their participates.

"No other sport or workplace would allow their people to risk injury or illness, so it is a bigger picture for football to look at."

"Rugby has similar issues but they have already put a lot of protocols in place, football has not really done so, especially in cases of suspected concussion. In my view that is something which should be looked at."

Other measures to be introduced include advice not to over inflate footballs, and use the lowest pressure allowed by the Laws of the Game, and heading drills for under 18s should be reduced to take into consideration heading exposure in matches.

FA chief executive officer Mark Bullingham said: "This updated heading guidance is an evolution of our current guidelines and will help coaches and teachers to reduce and remove repetitive and unnecessary heading from youth football.

"Our research has shown that heading is rare in youth football matches, so this guidance is a responsible development to our grassroots coaching without impacting the enjoyment that children of all ages take from playing the game."

• See more pictures by clicking the arrow to the right on the picture above. My thanks to all for braving the wind and rain to pose for pictures and give their comments, and apologise for the poor quality of a couple of the pics. (Editor)