Since Love of the Game (LOTG) launched in 2020, we’ve been on a mission to change the game for good — reducing concussion‑related issues across sport and protecting players at every level.
Driven by a solutions‑led approach, we’re pushing progress through education, technology and research, bringing together world‑class experts, pioneering innovators and passionate sporting communities.
Everything we do is focused on one goal: making sure every player can enjoy the sport they love, safely.
Take a look at the work we’re leading across the sector:
Our work on the first-ever concussion guidelines for grassroots sport.
Love of the Game worked closely with the UK Government to help develop the first-ever concussion guidelines for grassroots sport — a minimum standard designed for anyone participating in sport across the UK.
The “If in doubt, sit them out” (credit to Peter Robinson) guidelines, created in partnership with DCMS and a team of medical and sporting experts including LOTG advisors, set out clear steps for recognising and managing concussion from the moment of injury through to a safe return to play. They outline early identification, assessment by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 within 24 hours, and a minimum 24‑hour break from sport before a graduated, supervised return to play.
Following their launch, LOTG has been actively raising awareness of the guidelines with parents, teachers and coaches as players return to school and training — ensuring more people know how to recognise concussion and respond safely.
As Jonny Wilkinson said:
“To preserve the immensity of sport we need to empower the players. What LOTG is doing in terms of protection from the risks of brain trauma is absolutely crucial and I support them wholeheartedly.”
You can download the full guidelines here.
Championing early innovations
We have been thrilled to support some of the very best innovations and start ups that are advancing concussion prevention, diagnosis, and management. Including but not limited to:
Concussion Toolkit – transforming concussion awareness, education and guidance in community sport; bringing clear, user-centred solutions to the places it’s needed most. Now the leading educational partner of Love of the Game, Concussion Toolkit plays a central role in our mission to improve concussion awareness and empower communities with the confidence to act.
Find out more about how Concussion Toolkit can help your school, club or university.
BrainEye – AI‑driven concussion screening that delivers objective insights in under 60 seconds, using eye-tracking technology.
Abbott Laboratories – working on two biomarkers; UCH-Li and Glial fibrillary active protein, to objectively diagnose concussions on pitchside. Abbott laboratories are working on how to get these biomarkers from saliva.
Company Spotlight: PolarCap® — Advancing Early Intervention in Concussion Care
PolarCap® is one of the most exciting early‑stage innovations in concussion care, and we’ve been proud to support their journey from the very beginning. Their clinically supported head and neck cooling technology is designed to rapidly reduce elevated brain temperature after head injury — a crucial factor in mitigating potential long‑term damage and supporting recovery.
Following successful trials in the Swedish Hockey League, Love of the Game helped facilitate PolarCap’s introduction to the UK, including its trial with London Irish Rugby Club. This early support contributed to a major milestone: the Football Association of Wales entering an agreement to deploy PolarCap® on the field at the FIFA World Cup — a landmark moment for early‑intervention concussion technology on the global stage.
A word from Jamie Bache, Chief Growth Officer at PolarCap®:
“Love of the Game’s Demo Day was a great early exposure for PolarCap®, coming shortly after the publication of our clinical results. It provided an important platform to engage with clinicians, innovators, and decision‑makers who care deeply about improving concussion care. Simon Shaw MBE and Professor Mike Parker have supported the treatment from the very beginning and have been outstanding champions and advocates for our work.”
We’re excited to continue supporting their work as they scale this technology across professional sport and help shape a safer future for players everywhere.
Funding vital research
Innovation doesn’t happen without research. A core part of our work is ensuring everything we do is grounded in evidence. By raising funds to advance concussion research and support new studies, partnerships and trials, we can help drive the development of the very best concussion solutions across all levels of sport.
Our close collaboration with the UK Concussion Network, based at the University of Cambridge, allows us to actively support emerging research and connect young, innovative researchers with leading institutions and professionals.
Research Highlight: WAVi – investigating whether EEG evoked responses can be used as an objective aid in return-to-play decisions
A team we’ve been proud to support since winning the Love of the Game Hackathon in 2022 and showcasing their work at our Demo Days.
LOTG has funded one of WAVi’s major research projects, investigating whether EEG‑based evoked responses can support return‑to‑play decisions after sports‑related concussion. Led by Dr Joanne Powell and collaborators at Edge Hill University, the study follows athletes from Cornish Pirates RFC, Sevenoaks RFC, and East London RFC over multiple seasons to understand how brain activity changes after concussion and how this relates to recovery.
WAVi Med is an all‑in‑one EEG system that turns brainwave data into meaningful clinical insights, helping track functional change over time and complementing existing assessments.
Understanding whether symptoms and standard tests can appear “normal” before the brain has fully recovered is crucial. Objective data has the potential to support safer, more individualised concussion management — not replacing clinical judgement, but strengthening it.
One of the conclusions of the study was that it was clear WAVi is a very good indicator for when it is safe to return and able to protect athletes from returning to play when the brain is still damaged or still recovering from concussion.
A crucial research project we are proud to be able to fund and champion.
Sharing Insights
With a multidisciplinary team of athletes, medics, physios, entrepreneurs and sports fans, we’re able to offer organisations and individuals clear, practical insight into one of the most important issues facing sport today: concussion.
Case Study: The Heads’ Conference Sport Committee
We were delighted to attend and present at the HMC Sport Committee meeting, sharing our insights and expertise on concussion in the school environment.
Our session — delivered by clinical advisor Donna Sanderson‑Hull, medical advisor Professor Mike Parker, and LOTG chairman & ex-professional, Simon Shaw MBE — cut straight to the practical realities schools face. We explored how to spot symptoms early, manage the first hours and days effectively and support recovery.
Crucially, our aim wasn’t to overwhelm anyone with medical detail. Instead, we focused on giving HMC members clear principles, grounded understanding and real confidence in decision‑making, with signposting to best‑practice resources they can use immediately.
It was also a great opportunity to highlight the work of our education partner, Concussion Toolkit, and the behaviour‑change they deliver, as well as the expertise Donna brings through her work with Complete Concussion Management Inc.
Please reach out to millie@loveofthegame.org if you are working on something that aligns with our work.
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