FIFA, WHO Launch Concussion Awareness Campaign

FIFA and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a global campaign, 'Suspect and Protect: No Match is Worth the Risk', to raise awareness about concussion injuries in football. The initiative, developed with input from medical experts, aims to educate players, coaches, and medical staff on recognizing concussion symptoms, which can take up to 72 hours to manifest. This comes a decade after the controversial case of Christoph Kramer during the 2014 World Cup, where he continued playing after a head injury. FIFA is distributing toolkits to its 211 national federations and supports the idea of allowing teams to make extra substitutions for players with suspected concussions. However, FIFA has historically blocked proposals for temporary substitutions that would allow for immediate assessment of suspected concussion cases. WHO's director-general emphasized the need for greater awareness of concussion risks at all levels of football.