Alan Shearer named patron of Jeff Astle Foundation
Former England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer has become a patron of the Jeff Astle Foundation.
The charity was set up in 2015 after the tragic death of Albion legend Astle in 2002 raised serious concerns about the impact of heading footballs on the brain.
Shearer, who is the all-time Premier League top scorer with 260 goals, is making a 60-minute BBC documentary called 'Dementia: Football's Silent Shame?'
In the documentary Shearer investigates the latest scientific research from around the world into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the condition that killed Astle.
He said: "I was aware of former football players, legends who I grew up watching, suffering from dementia. Could this affect football and footballers too?
"The more I read about it, the more I felt this was a subject that could no longer be ignored."
