Former Arsenal academy player Billy Vigar has died while playing for Chichester United, as confirmed by the club. The 21-year-old succumbed to severe head trauma after colliding with a concrete wall. He was placed in an emergency induced coma but sadly passed away just a few days later.
While the thoughts of everyone in the world are with Vigar and his family, Billy’s death must also be seen as part of a broader failure — not just by FIFA but by the entire football world — to ensure the safety of footballers.
Vigar collided with a concrete wall used to hold an advertising board which, according to reports, was positioned too close to the pitch. First and foremost, a concrete wall should be nowhere near a football pitch. Concrete walls may be used for crowd control or structural purposes, but everyone knows their main function today is to hold advertising boards. So why should people lose their lives simply because of an advertising board?
When running — and footballers do run — it is difficult to slow momentum. It’s just like driving a car at high speed: if you suddenly slam the brakes, the car may somersault or crash. In the same way, when concrete walls are placed too close to the pitch, footballers often cannot slow down in time, leading to collisions.
FIFA does have regulations on the distance between concrete walls and the pitch, recommending 3–6 metres of clearance. However, FIFA has done little to enforce its own rules, choosing instead to function mainly as a revenue-generating body. In high-tier competitions where the world is watching, walls and advertising boards are kept at a safe distance. But in lower-tier leagues, dangerous walls continue to be placed right next to the pitch.
Vigar’s death is not the first to occur under such circumstances. In 2008, Croatian footballer Hrvoje Ćustić of NK Zadar died in hospital after colliding with a concrete wall. In 2015, Emanuel Ortega, playing in Argentina’s fifth tier, died after striking a wall just one metre from the touchline. More recently, in 2022, Alex Fletcher, while playing for Bath City, sustained a severe head injury from a wall collision that eventually forced him into retirement.
The truth is, no one seems to care enough about the safety of these players. To many fans, footballers earn large sums of money, so they should “just go out and play.” But that mindset ignores the risks. It is sad that FIFA, while raising awareness about concussions, has failed to address one of the main causes of such injuries — unsafe stadium design.
And to the players: no one will protect you but yourselves. Stop playing on unsafe pitches. Because if you die, people’s thoughts will be with your family for a few days — and then life simply goes on.
