If you would like to take up a more gentle form of football, why not try Walking Football?
It’s a no contact, walking speed sport for women aged over 40 and men over 50. There is a growing body of evidence that it is good for the physical and mental health of players and its a load of fun, too.
The sport was started in the UK nearly 10 years ago and now there are over 1,000 clubs and 60,000 participating players. Here the sport is administered by the Association Française de Foot de Marchant (AFFM) which was set up in 2020. We have nearly 60 affiliated clubs and more are playing and joining all the time. There are also national French teams which play against England and other countries.
If you’re interested, perhaps having put your boots away thinking you’d never use them again, or want to start a new sport, contact your local FFF club to see if they have a walking football team for you to join.
I’ve been involved for nearly three years, not as a player but as a referee and I’m currently chair of the AFFM Commission d’Arbitrage - so if you’re interested in refereeing rather than kicking a ball, you’d be welcome!
Sounds interesting, not that I would find the time to play, already gave up petanque for that reason.
On a humerous note, I wonder if you are able, or interested enough to watch an excellent Scottish comedy programme featuring a load of pensioners in a run down part of Gladgow.
One episode involved them taking up that sport and it got really ugly with broken limbs and oldies being carried off on stretchers.
It is called ‘Still Game’ and has me in stitches every week, even though I have seen all the episodes many times now.
Rob, I love walking football and play in an over 60s league. Competitive with a friendly and camaraderic edge. You dont even need to be good at football just prepared to get involved and go with the flow.
Well, as the word petanque comes from the French ‘pieds ancre’, feet anchored, I suppose my reply should be Jules, as he is confined to the garden when not out with me, and even then, to combat his hunting nose, he is still attached albeit at a distance of 33 metres and, I am sure, as he runs following scents at will within that range, he doesn’t feel anchored at all.
