PFA Chief Executive Maheta Molango and PFA Chair John Mousinho have both today pledged to donate their brain as part of a new concussion initiative backed by the Jeff Astle Foundation.
The partnership with Concussion Legacy Foundation UK will research Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and other consequences of brain trauma in athletes and military veterans in the UK.
PFA Chief Executive Molango, a former striker at Brighton & Hove Albion, Lincoln City and Oldham Athletic, stated: "While being very mindful of taking immediate steps to protect
current players, in the long-term ongoing research is vital to enable us to be able to answer more questions and best support members.
"We have been listening and engaging with leading academic experts, and they tell us that brain donation is a key piece to the puzzle in understanding CTE. We are excited to join a global network of the most prominent researchers in this area."
Yesterday, rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson became the first athlete to pledge to the Concussion Legacy Project's "brain bank", with the former Lion previously stating that he cannot remember playing in England's 2003 World Cup final win over Australia.
Today, Oxford United's captain Mousinho, who has amassed over 500 league appearances over a fifteen-year professional career, committed his support for the project.
PFA Chair, Mousinho explained: "Brain donation is an intensely personal decision for former players and their families. However, I have been inspired by the team at the Concussion Legacy Foundation and The Jeff Astle Foundation, and I have decided to commit my brain to future research in the hope that it can help play a part in protecting future generations.
"The Concussion Legacy Foundation has a strong ethos of supporting families and everyone affected by brain injury, and they are values we share at the PFA."
Dawn Astle, who has been campaigning for two decades for football's authorities to publicly recognise a link between the repeated heading of a football and dementia in later life, has given her full support to the new concussion initiative.
Speaking on behalf of The Jeff Astle Foundation, Astle stated: "Brain donation is the most valuable gift of all for future generations of footballers. It may be many years before this jigsaw is complete but adding each piece, one at a time is the only way we will understand the true picture and make a better future for others.
"The Jeff Astle Foundation encourages families of athletes and veterans to donate the brain of their loved one to the Concussion Legacy Project at PledgeMyBrain.org."