Our son's death could have been prevented, say parents of footballer Billy Vigar

The parents of footballer Billy Vigar have said their son’s death could have been prevented by the Football Association, in their first broadcast interview since his passing, the BBC reports.

Vigar, a 21-year-old former Arsenal academy player who played for Chichester City, died from a significant brain injury five days after colliding with a concrete wall around the pitch at Wingate & Finchley FC in north London. His parents, Keith and Camilla Vigar, spoke to the BBC on the first anniversary of his death.

The family accuse the FA of doing “nothing” after previous similar incidents. They cite the 2015 death of Ben Hiscox near Bristol — after which padding and a larger run-off were added following a coroner’s warning — and Alex Fletcher’s skull fracture at Bath City in 2022, which ended his career in 2024. The FA carried out a review of clubs afterwards, the parents say, but no action followed, and Wingate & Finchley had been flagged as high-risk. The FA provided no comment when asked what was done with the information it gathered.

An inquest into Vigar’s death is expected to take place next year. To mark the anniversary, the family are climbing Snowdon with their children Phoebe and Ollie and the family of Billy’s girlfriend Lois.

Sources

• BBC Sport — Our son’s death could have been prevented by FA, say parents of Billy Vigar