Walking football is a variant of football initially aimed at getting senior citizens involved in football.
It is hugely popular in the United Kingdom. The Walking Football World Cup will be held in Manchester this year.
Pre-Covid-19 days, there were pockets of groups that played walking football in Singapore. The sport certainly intrigued me.
I could relate to the sport as well. Despite being too young to be classified as a senior citizen, a long-term knee injury means that this is the only form of football that I can play.
As I was busy facilitating and organising 5-aside leagues almost daily pre-pandemic, I couldn’t find the time to turn the idea of walking football into a reality.
In the post-pandemic world, with everything starting from scratch, and with a bit more time to plan, I have decided to build a community of walking footballers.
As there were a few unknown components, I had to get a consensus on when the players preferred to play, by offering them three options – Wednesday nights, or Saturday, or Sunday afternoons.
I didn’t limit anyone in terms of gender or age. It was open to all.
I received 22 responses, and most chose to play on Saturday afternoon. As such, our first session will be held today at the Charis Turf.
The youngest respondent was 18 years old, while the oldest was 58. Those who signed up were all males.
Despite receiving 22 responses, it was a bit of a struggle to get 10 players for the first session. There were older members in the group who were hesitant at first, as the age group was open, and they just wanted to play with folks their age.
Despite repeated assurances that everyone will start at the same level (since it is a new variant for all), and those who are younger might not necessarily be as good, some were hesitant to commit.
I had also approached a number of former professional players, but they declined, as they preferred normal football. Fair enough, as they are still fit enough to run.
Maybe, it could be an option for them in the future, when they slow down.
The facilitator for D2D Sports’ Walking Football, Lubis Ratno, who is making a mid-career switch, is very enthusiastic about this project. He was active in recruiting participants, including members of his family, to play.
Overall, the idea is to get the ball rolling first and build a community of regular players. Only then, can we segregate the players according to age, with the long-term goal of creating a league for walking footballers.
Our sessions are going to be 5-aside, and played for an hour. We hope the players enjoy the first session tomorrow and return for more, as well as spread word to those who might enjoy this variant of the game.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
