A former Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player is pushing soccer’s international governing body to establish universal concussion substitution requirements before this year’s World Cup tournament.
Taylor Twellman, whose professional playing career was cut short by post-concussion syndrome, expressed concerns Monday that the 48 competing nations have varying brain injury protocols that could endanger players.
“Quite honestly, FIFA should have a concussion sub universal in all the leagues around the world,” he told Reuters on Monday.
The 45-year-old sports broadcaster has emerged as a prominent advocate for brain injury prevention in soccer through his ThinkTaylor foundation, which he launched in 2011. He contends that while FIFA has established written guidelines, the organization has not successfully ensured uniform implementation across global competitions.
“I don’t think FIFA’s done a good enough job of educating the world and being at the forefront of changing the sport for a better way for the athletes.”
FIFA’s current brain injury guidelines recommend a “suspect and protect” strategy, requiring players with possible concussions to undergo evaluation and prohibiting same-day return to competition. The protocol also promotes using video analysis and organized sideline examinations to detect head injuries.
“FIFA may have a protocol, but that doesn’t mean the application of the protocol is at the same level from every team,” Twellman added.
Soccer’s world governing organization has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding their concussion policies.
Twellman highlighted significant disparities in brain injury awareness based on his observations at the professional club level, noting that international players joining MLS often arrive with limited knowledge about concussions.
“Sometimes they don’t even know what a concussion looks like or how it should be treated until they see and discuss it,” he said. “It’s very difficult to be that universal medical voice when some countries don’t even recognise concussions in the same way.”
This challenge becomes more complex considering soccer’s worldwide popularity and the uneven quality of medical resources across different regions.
Twellman acknowledged improvements in Major League Soccer since his playing years, noting that all 50 U.S. states now mandate removing athletes with suspected concussions from competition and requiring medical approval before they can return. However, he stressed that no league should become complacent with existing safety measures.
“Has MLS addressed it in a better way than, let’s say, the (English) Premier League or FIFA? Sure. But that also doesn’t mean the league needs to stay where it is and not continue to grow,” he said. “Everyone should have to grow, including the NFL for that matter.”
The former player delivered a direct message to current athletes about personal responsibility.
“Take responsibility for your body, your brain, control what you can control,” he says.
“When I was playing, we didn’t have this information. We now do, so there are no excuses not to be educated on it.”
With more than 50 MLS players anticipated to participate in the World Cup, Twellman views this summer’s tournament as an opportunity to highlight American soccer’s development. The league begins the current season with 30 teams.
As MLS kicked off last weekend, Twellman considered the sport’s progress in America since the 1994 World Cup helped establish the foundation for the league’s debut two years afterward.
“I think it would be hard to believe anyone that would think the league would grow this fast,” he added.
He also sees the international tournament as a chance for FIFA to show leadership regarding player safety.
“We’ve got the education, we’ve got the science behind it,” Twellman said. “Now we’ve just got to make better decisions on and off the field.”
