Food, travel, money, cities – all have succumbed to the slow movement in recent years. The latest addition to the scene is football. Or rather low-impact football, walking football or, as it will inevitably soon be branded, slow football. There are now more than 800 walking football clubs (WFCs) registered in the UK, twice the number that existed a year ago. As a result of the surge in popularity, the FA is drawing up standardised rules to be issued next February.
What is walking football?
In essence, football without running that more closely resembles the five-a-side than 11-a-side game. It was invented to inspire men over 50 to get more exercise and counter social isolation, and now thousands of older men – and, you hope, some women – are now rediscovering the joys of football by playing it at a more leisurely pace. This year, the third annual Walking Football United national tournament introduced a 60-plus side for the first time. Some regular players are well into their 80s.
The history
It was first played in 2011 by the Chesterfield FC Community Trust (now the 40-strong Chesterfield Senior Spireites FC), but it was a 2014 Barclays TV ad featuring a bloke called Roy extolling the wonders of walking football that took the sport to the masses. Steve Rich, then 52 and an ex-Sunday League player forced to give up the game after a car accident in his 20s, saw the ad and launched the WFU website to connect teams across the UK. It has since been inundated with requests from tens of thousands of older men looking for local clubs. Manchester City were the first Premier League club to launch a walking football team, with Glasgow Rangers set to follow suit. As the Senior Spireites put it: “Soccer is in our blood, and we can still do it, sort of.”
The rules
There may be 52 rules listed on the WFU’s national tournament website, but the only one that can be agreed on is that one foot must remain on the ground at all times. “If it looks like running,” notes the WFU, “it probably is. Whistle.” Nevertheless, the rule is frequently broken when the players get excited and break into a light jog, the penalty for which is a free kick to the other team.
The areas of dispute
There are many. Some clubs rule the ball should not be kicked above head height, while others have no limit. Should free kicks be direct or indirect? Back passes: in some clubs, the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball if it is passed by a defender. For some teams, players are allowed only three touches before they have to pass, while others have no limit. Most clubs have a minimal contact rule, but some say there should be none at all. You can see why the FA has stepped in …
The big players
Walking football has won the support of professionals including Harry Kane, Geoff Hurst, Alan Shearer and Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup game in 2012 and “died” for 78 minutes before coming back to life. Rich has said that a walking football World Cup could happen within five years.
