Former Manchester United and Blackburn defender David May announced the news on BBC Breakfast, confirming he had been given permission by Windass to do so.
He said: “He’s the same age as me and he’s worried sick of how it’s going to be in the future for him.”
May is among a group of former footballers and families of ex-players backing a campaign to provide more support for former players affected by neurodegenerative disease.
The Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign is also working with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.
May added: “I’m 55 this year, I’d like to know where I’m going to be in 10 years’ time. Would I have the care from the governing bodies, from the PFA, the funding that these families now are not actually getting?
“I’m worried, of course I am. I’ve got a family to look after, and I don’t want my children looking after me day in, day out.”
FFJ is being led by John Stiles, the son of England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles.
Former Manchester United midfielder Stiles, who died in 2020, had prostate cancer and advanced dementia.
His brain was diagnosed as having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a form of degenerative disease dementia which is believed to be caused by repeated blows.
John Stiles told BBC Breakfast: “My father was very lucky because he had medals to sell. His healthcare was very expensive. If he didn’t have medals to sell I don’t know what my family would have done – and that is what is happening to families of footballers.
“That is why we are campaigning to get help for those families who are in a complete financial mess when their husband goes into a care home.”
The Professional Footballers’ Association, the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales, has a dedicated brain health team to support former members, and educate current players, concerned about brain health.
In September 2023 it launched the Football Brain Health Fund, making available an initial £1m to assist former players and their families who have been impacted by dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions.
In May, the Football Association said it would introduce a new rule to phase out deliberate heading in grassroots youth matches across England.
