Dean Windass calls for more dementia support, saying he’s scared for the future after diagnosis

Dean Windass calls for more dementia support, saying he’s scared for the future after his stage two diagnosis.

The 55 year old publicly shared his fears for the future following his stage two dementia diagnosis in 2024, linking his condition to the repeated heading of the ball during his 19-year career.

In a recent interview with BBC Newsnight on March 11th of this year, his first TV appearance since the diagnosis became public, he expressed his anxiety, stating, “It scares me,” when reflecting on what lies ahead in 10 to 15 years.

Windass is now calling for increased support for footballers and their families affected by dementia, emphasising the need for the sport’s governing bodies and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) to take more action.

He believes that greater awareness and assistance could make a significant difference, a sentiment echoed by his involvement with Football Families for Justice (FFJ), a group advocating for the rights and well-being of former players with neurodegenerative diseases.

Windass has also highlighted the lack of progress in the football community’s response to this issue, a frustration shared by others like ex-player Chris Sutton, who noted the authorities’ inaction following his father’s death from dementia over four years ago.

Despite his diagnosis, Windass remains focused on turning his experience into a positive force, hoping to help others in similar situations, adding he doesn’t want sympathy but rather aims to spark meaningful change, reflecting his characteristic resilience and humour, where he once said on Twitter that he was “delighted to find out I had a brain” upon learning of his condition.

My beds made, pillows on top ⚽️🛏️

Important interview today with the BBC and Victoria Derbyshire with the importance of CTE and dementia in football

Deano x@supreme_cbd @afowler06 @johnstiles64 @walkingsbrill @bignorms @DavidMay04 @Robbie9Fowler @ChrisKirkland43 @kerryhull75 pic.twitter.com/dydxnrmEWW

— Dean Windass (@DWindass10) March 10, 2025

“If you’d have told me back then through heading a ball that the outcome would be [dementia]… I wouldn’t have done it as much in training.”

Former professional footballer Dean Windass speaks to @vicderbyshire about his stage two dementia diagnosis.#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/G2Sq9FFK7C

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) March 11, 2025

I have to say @DWindass10 was a joy to spend time with but he & his good friend @DavidMay04 are frustrated with the players’ union the PFA for not doing, as they see it, much more to help the ex-professional players now diagnosed with dementia

Watch #Newsnight tonight 1030pm pic.twitter.com/XE1U6rt9AS

— Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) March 11, 2025

Windass spoke to BBC Newsnight he was trying not to let the illness affect him, but “has a cry every now and then”.

“It scares me. I don’t know what the outcome’s going to be. Interview me in 10 years’ time and I might tell you a different story.”

Windass said it was “emotional” for him when he underwent tests and although he doesn’t know what the future holds, said he was trying to live as normal a life as possible.

He added: “There’s nothing I can do. You can’t roll back the years, so you’ve just got to deal with it as much as you can.

“Hopefully, in the next five or 10 years it doesn’t develop. It might do, but it might not. So, you get up in the morning and you live. You try to live your life as normal.

“If they’d said [when playing] that in 10 years’ time you might have a shade of dementia. I’d go ‘well I’m not heading that ball then’.

“I wouldn’t have done that as much in training… [I’d] probably think twice.”

In his first interview since the diagnosis, Windass spoke about the impact the diagnosis was having on his mental health and his family, while also having concerns for his two sons, Josh and Jordan, also footballers.

“I don’t want them to worry because at the minute I’m alright,” he explained.

According to a study by Glasgow University in 2019, it was found that former professional footballers were almost three-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population.

Windass wants to raise awareness of dementia and get players’ union the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) to increase its support to affected players and their families.

“The one thing I love about myself is trying to help as many people as I can in any way, shape or form,” he said.

“The reason why we’ve done this [interview] is to help the families, because my family might need help in 10 or 15 years’ time. So I don’t want them to suffer as well.

“At this present time, if I can help or we can help people and push the PFA to help these people … that’s what we’re trying to do and trying to achieve.”

Fans send best wishes to Dean Windass following his Stage 2 Dementia diagnosis

Ex-footballer David May, who announced Windass’s diagnosis on BBC Breakfast, said: “When I asked Deano if I could mention it, I didn’t think it’d go as viral as what it has done.

“And in a way, it’s an absolute blessing because other people can benefit from Deano coming out and speaking about it.

“He’s talking about 10 or 15 years from now, he wants some reassurances that in 10 or 15 years’ time those plans are being put in place, so he doesn’t have to rely on his family and that there will be carers to help him.”