The Beautiful Stroll: England’s Seniors Take Walking Football To World Stage

1 month ago

There’s nary moving successful stepping shot – astatine least, not officially. Yet arsenic England’s over-70s took connected their last training lucifer earlier competing successful nan World Nations Cup successful Spain adjacent week, nan gait felt thing but pedestrian.

Voices echoed crossed nan pitch, sweat beading connected foreheads. One man moreover earned a reddish paper for grabbing different player’s limb and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity. For a athletics defined by restraint, it’s amazingly full-blooded.

“Most group would beryllium amazed by really competitory it is, really physically demanding it is, and really really speedy it is – not because group run, but because nan shot moves quickly erstwhile it’s played properly,” said Gareth Lewis, head of nan England men’s Over-70s team.

This is stepping shot – 1 of Britain’s fastest-growing sports – and astatine an property erstwhile galore are slowing down, these players are striding towards their prime.

What began successful Chesterfield successful 2011 arsenic a gentle measurement to coax older men backmost into workout has go a runaway occurrence communicative – contempt nan norm that 1 ft must ever stay connected nan ground.

“Here we are 14 years later, and it’s astir apt 1 of nan fastest increasing sports successful nan world,” said Stuart Langworthy, head of England’s over-60s. Today location are organization teams, nationalist leagues, an FA Cup, and world tournaments – including nan World Nations Cup, which kicks disconnected successful Spain connected Monday.

The inaugural Cup, held successful 2023 astatine St George’s Park successful Staffordshire, featured 28 men’s teams from 17 nations. England won some categories (over-50s and over-60s). “It was an astonishing experience; it’s difficult to put into words,” said Tony Jones, 70, a personnel of that winning broadside and now skipper of nan over-70s. This year’s tourney adds men’s over-70s and 3 women’s divisions – over-40s, over-50s and over-60s – pinch 70 teams expected from much than 30 nations.

More than 100,000 group now play regularly crossed nan UK, galore managing chronic illnesses aliases disabilities. Women are joining successful expanding numbers; among them is Morag “Maggie” Pearce – 1 of nan original Lionesses of nan 1970s and 80s – who will compete successful nan women’s over-60s squad successful Spain.

The women’s crippled is typically younger, said Langworthy: “You get a batch of younger women play because they want to support fit, but they don’t needfully want to spell to a gym aliases spell for a jog. They want to play successful a squad athletics which is inclusive.”

The stepping constituent is often nan hardest to master. The crippled is six-a-side, played connected a smaller 3G aliases 4G pitch, pinch nary tackling from down and nary interaction – rules designed to prioritise information but which galore opportunity amended nan shot itself. “It’s a crippled of skill,” said Graham Collier, 74, a erstwhile Nottingham Forest midfielder who now plays for England’s over-60s.

As nan sport’s fame surges, truthful excessively does investigation into its benefits.

Prof Ian Varley, an workout physiologist astatine Nottingham Trent University, studied 672 players successful past year’s FA Walking Football Cup. They recovered low wounded rates overall: tackles caused 45% of cases and moving – which is banned – 12%.

“A large point that we recovered is having a chronic information wasn’t really a barrier; complete half of participants had one,” said Varley. “There were group pinch arthritis, cancer, diabetes, changeable victims. There was 1 feline playing who’d had some his hips replaced.”

Most injuries were insignificant – trampled toes aliases kicked shins – pinch only 7% linked to pre-existing conditions.

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Players’ affectional wellbeing besides exceeded nan nationalist average, and loneliness tended to beryllium rarer: “The nationalist mean is astir 5% for emotion ‘often lonely’,” said Varley. “In stepping football, it was 1%. People said their societal connections had improved, their beingness fittingness had improved, they get amended sleep, person a greater confidence. It was almost for illustration a magic bullet.”

For Jones, nan biggest tie is friendship. “It’s nan camaraderie, nan dressing room banter,” he said.

The sport’s societal and cognitive benefits are being tested for different groups too. Dr Marie Poole astatine Newcastle University is studying a dementia-friendly stepping shot initiative pinch nan Newcastle United Foundation. “A batch of these guys are shot fans, and conscionable that consciousness of belonging to thing again is simply a existent benefit,” she said. “There are besides cognitive benefits related to sequencing your thoughts astir what you’re doing, who you’re trying to walk nan shot to, really you’re getting yourself successful position to people aliases defend.”

“It’s encephalon training arsenic good arsenic assemblage training,” added Prof Dame Louise Robinson, besides progressive successful nan research.

Parkinson’s is different example: Langworthy shows a video of Paul Nicholls, diagnosed successful 2014 and a laminitis of England’s first Parkinson’s stepping football. Though he struggles to locomotion unaided, erstwhile he gets a football, he tin run, move and dribble. “Because your encephalon is reasoning ‘I’ve sewage to power nan ball’, it someway allows your assemblage to work,” said Simon Forrest, nan Walking Football Association’s impairment director, who besides has Parkinson’s.

Inclusive it mightiness be, but astatine elite level stepping shot is fiercely competitive. Having won nan World Nations Cup successful 2023, England is heavy tipped to clasp its title – though Italy is simply a threat. “They do everything you’d expect an Italian squad to do,” said Jones, pinch a shine successful his eye. “The problem is, everyone wants to hit us.”

Watching nan over-70s successful action, it’s clear nan passion for shot doesn’t discontinue – it simply finds a different gait. “As an aged person, you look astir astatine what different aged group do, and we’re playing football. We’re going to France, Italy, Spain for nan World Cup,” said Lewis. “Pinch me. We’ve sewage our shot back.”

The emergence of stepping sports

While stepping shot has group nan pace, a increasing number of different stepping sports are gaining crushed crossed nan UK and beyond – offering lower-impact ways to enactment active, sociable and engaged.

Walking Netball is different English invention, developed by England Netball successful collaboration pinch Age UK successful 2017, and rolled retired nationally pinch nan support of nan Women’s Institute and section leisure centres. It adapts modular netball rules: nary moving aliases jumping, longer ball-holding times and other steps allowed. The crippled has proved particularly celebrated among women complete 50, providing some fittingness and friendship.

Walking Rugby is besides gathering momentum. First played astatine Reading RFC successful 2015 aft players asked for a type akin to stepping football, this non-contact adjustment removes tackling, mauls, rucks and scrums – and insists participants locomotion astatine each times. Players tin clasp nan shot for nary much than 3 seconds earlier passing, keeping nan gait brisk and encouraging interceptions.

Walking Tennis is nan latest to subordinate nan lineup. Age UK and nan Lawn Tennis Association’s Tennis Foundation person launched 8 aviator groups crossed England, aiming to scope much than 160 older group complete nan adjacent 2 years – peculiarly those pinch wellness conditions, disabilities aliases constricted mobility. The crippled removes galore of tennis’s beingness barriers: there’s nary moving aliases jumping, players are allowed 2 bounces of nan ball, and matches are played connected smaller courts pinch softer balls and lighter rackets.