Greg Dyke has vowed there will be no repeat of the FA’s failure to deliver potentially life-saving research into links between concussion and early on-set dementia. The Football Association chairman admits his organisation’s response to former West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle’s death aged 59 in 2002, from ‘industrial disease’ linked to repetitive head injuries sustained playing football, was ‘woefully inadequate’. The FA and PFA promised a 10-year study to investigate the connection between head injuries and early on-set dementia after a coroner found Astle’s brain ‘resembled that of a boxer’s’ but a Mail on Sunday investigation last year revealed the research was never carried out. Jeff Astle's family were at The Hawthorns for 'Astle Day' as Baggies fans paid to tribute to the former striker . Jeff Astle's wife brings out the match ball ahead of the league clash between West Brom and Leicester . West Brom paid tribute to  Astle on 'Astle Day', the former Baggies striker at the age of 59 in 2002 due . Baggies striker Saido Berahino wore Astle's No 9 shirt during the Premier League match at The Hawthorns . Dyke went to The Hawthorns on Saturday for the launch of the Jeff Astle Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of head injuries in football while funding future research, and he apologised for the FA’s failure to acknowledge the significance of Astle’s death. ‘We promised the Astle family we would do some research and we didn’t and that is a failure by the FA and yes, we are now going to do it,’ Dyke told the Mail on Sunday. ‘It’s going to be done. There will be a piece of work about head injuries and football. We want to get FIFA involved as well because if we draw some profound conclusions we’ll need to get everyone involved. ‘We’ll help fund the research and we’ll put together a working group and we’ll help fund it too. You need to separate the emotion and do the research and ask, “What do we understand?” The suggestion of the Astle family is that head injuries are more likely to lead to early on-set dementia and that is to do with heading the ball or physical contact. That’s what we need to investigate and understand. ‘Let’s see what the research finds and get FIFA involved too because this isn’t going to be a British-only phenomenon, it’s going to be a worldwide phenomenon. It won’t disappear, that is for certain. That was a bad mistake by the FA (to not carry out research).’ West Bromwich Albion became only the second team in Premier League history to be granted permission to wear a replica strip on Saturday, with their shirts resembling those worn by the 1968 FA Cup-winning side in which Astle scored in every round including the final. Astle represented the Baggies for 10 years between 1964 and 1974 during his professional career . West Brom players take to the pitch in a Astle commemorative kit ahead of their showdown with Leicester . A close up view of the Jeff Astle gates ahead of the Barclays Premier League match at West Brom . Their match against Leicester City was attended by his wife Laraine and daughters Dawn and Claire, who set up the Justice for Jeff campaign last season after being alerted to the FA and PFA’s failure to deliver promised research by the Mail on Sunday. ‘My Jeff died not knowing he had ever been a professional footballer,’ Laraine said. ‘We were promised research into the issue and it wasn’t until we were alerted by the Mail on Sunday that it hadn’t been carried out that we knew any different. None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for the Mail on Sunday.’ West Brom’s fans held up placards nine minutes into Saturday's game proclaiming ‘Astle is King’ in remembrance of a man whose death could yet prove the catalyst to drastic improvements to concussion protocols in sport. ‘This is just too important to let go,’ Dawn said. ‘We have been inundated with calls from concerned families who believe their dads or husbands are suffering dementia prematurely because of the head injuries they suffered as professional footballers. ‘There are too many cases for it to be coincidence. Sport’s governing bodies have paid lip service to this for far too long and have been allowed to get away with it. That has to stop. The Mail on Sunday revealed the Football Association did not carry out adequate research into Astle's death . West Brom fans display an 'Astle' banner during the ninth minute to represent the shirt number he wore at The Hawthorns . Greg Dyke has vowed there will be no repeat of the FA’s failure to deliver potentially life-saving research . ‘My dad loved the game but ultimately it killed him. Everybody who plays the game needs to know that it comes with a risk. Players need to leave the field if they suffer a head injury. ‘We’ve been encouraged by the FA and PFA’s response in recent months but it’s taken them too long to address this.’ Sections of Astle’s brain were re-examined at Glasgow Southern General Hospital last year by Professor Willie Stewart, who confirmed the striker had been suffering from the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which was previously believed only to be found in boxers. But studies in the United States have revealed a far higher incidence of CTE in American footballers than the wider population, while sports including rugby, horse racing, boxing and ice hockey are also now on high alert following a massive lawsuit involving the NFL and retired players suffering dementia. Prof Stewart called Saturday's launch of the Jeff Astle Foundation ‘a landmark day’. He went on: ‘Though Jeff was the first former footballer recognised with CTE, sadly he will not be the last. And the foundation will provide a source of information and support for people within sport affected by dementia, and their families. It has taken 13 years to get this far in football. We cannot allow another 13 years to slip by without action.’ Saturday’s match was attended by a host of celebrity backers, including 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks, as well as concussion campaigners like Peter Robinson, whose 14-year-old rugby-playing son Ben died in 2011 after being allowed to play on after suffering repeated blows to the head. ‘If one person present at the game had recognised the signs of concussion or understood how dangerous it could be then my Ben would still be alive,’ Peter Robinson said. ‘There has been too much lip service paid to the issue in the past. It’s time to act.’
Former West Brom forward Jeff Astle died 'from an industrial disease' His death at the age of 59 in 2002 was linked to repetitive head injuries . Greg Dyke has said FA's reaction to his death was ‘woefully inadequate’ West Brom celebrated Jeff Astle's career during defeat by Leicester .