St Neots & District

Walking Football

Walking Football is an excellent form of aerobic exercise: during the course of a game one is likely to exercise (gently!) a wide range of different muscles, while getting the heart and lungs working. It is designed to incorporate the enjoyment of a game of football without the physical contact – although we cannot avoid the odd bump or two. The real beauty of the game is that one need not ever have played football before to enjoy it – and it is very easy to pick it up as you go along. We welcome male and female players (more ladies are required) and no experience is necessary. Several members of the group had never played football before and are now very much part of the core of the group. The group leader is always happy to offer a few tips as required.
So, how do you play? Well, the clue's sort of in the name. It's football but played at a walking pace. If you bear in mind that the definition of walking is having one part of either foot on the ground at any time, some people will obviously walk faster than others. We only call it out if someone is clearly running - but at our age we are more likely to congratulate them. We are able to configure the size of the pitch according to the number of players, and the goals are not full-sized - approximately the same size as hockey goals. So, as you can see it's not massively different from the game you see on television, and, as mentioned, it's very easy to pick it up. The main thing is that everyone gets involved, doing as much or as little as they want, and no-one is left out warming the touchline.
The Group consists of a mixture of men and women, ranging in age from early 60s to 80s. We have players of all abilities, from those who have played some football in the past, to those who started simply looking for some exercise, but whose skills have improved as we have gone on. It is excellent exercise, literally played at a walking pace with minimal contact (ie we cannot avoid the odd bump, but robust tackling is not permitted). We play on the Astroturf surface at St Neots Town FC, currently all year round, as that is what the players prefer. We welcome new players.

Want to know more contact me using the link on this page.

Thanks Ian Morrison. Group Leader.