Study will look at effect of football on the young

Rangers FC has teamed up with a team of university anatomists to study the effects that intensive football training has on young boys.

Researchers at the University of Dundee are working with young footballers at the Youth Academy of Rangers Football Club to examine the effects of such training on bone growth.

They are also on a quest to find boys who do not play a lot of football or sports so they can compare the effects.

Professor Rami Abboud, director of the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research (IMAR) at the University of Dundee, said: "Although football is a major global sport, there is a significant weakness in the scientific literature as to whether targeted exercise training and many hours of practice are actually beneficial to growing individuals.

"The limited knowledge is worrying with respect to the short- and long-term welfare of young footballers, as well as society as a whole, due to the ever-increasing focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle in order to tackle childhood obesity."

Boys taking part in the research project will have their movements captured using the same kind of hi-tech motion analysis used to produce computer games, such as the Fifa football games, and movies.