Players enjoy fun and friendship at women's walking football club

One of the newest was formed in Shrewsbury in March and was inspired by the Lionesses’ triumph in the Euros tournament last summer.

Open to women over the age of 55, it was set up by Kate Brown with support from Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin and Energize Shropshire Telford & Wrekin.

Every Wednesday morning players spend an hour honing their skills, catching up with their friends and enjoying being active in the fresh air.

“My husband has been playing for the men’s walking football club for 10 years and I thought there should be one for women too,” says Kate, who lives in Shrewsbury. “We’re the generation that wasn’t allowed to play football – we could play hockey, which is more dangerous, but not football.

“I have always enjoyed watching football and I would have played at school if we hadn’t been banned. Now we can play every week.”

Walking football was first conceived as a sport to be played by men over 50 and women over 40.

But it’s also proven popular with young players who can’t play the traditional game due to injury or mobility and much older players including those in their 80s. As the name suggests, the biggest difference is that running or jogging, either with the ball or off the ball, is not allowed in games, which are normally six-a-side. Players can walk as fast as they want and they can tackle, although this must be done with no contact.

The Shrewsbury group meets at 10.30am every Wednesday morning at Monkmoor Recreation Ground.

“We started in March and in just a few weeks we found we had learnt some new skills,” says Kate.

“We play whatever the weather – we had torrential rain in the first two weeks – and we will carry on throughout the winter.”

Gill Moore had never played football, apart from with her grandchildren in the garden, before she joined the club.

“I’m in lots of clubs. Since I retired, I’ve needed to get outside and see other people. I don’t know anything about football apart from playing with the grandchildren and knowing I need to get the ball in the goal but it’s such good fun. I enjoy the exercise and the companionship. The main thing is remembering everybody’s name – but that’s good for the grey matter,” she tells Weekend.

Jenny Duncan, who lives in Shrewsbury, was another newcomer to the game and says it’s a good way of keeping active and making new friends.

“It’ doesn’t matter what you’ve done before. It’s open to anybody. Everybody is very friendly and welcoming,” she says.

Barbara Greene, from Broseley, has been playing walking football for four years and is also a member of clubs in Broseley and Hartshill, Kingswinford.

She says the training sessions are always fun and she enjoys making new friends with a love of playing football.

“We are playing a friendly against Hartshill in August and they’ve been very welcoming and have offered us a coaching session too.

“We could do with new members in Broseley. We meet at 6pm on Tuesdays at the MUGA.”

Kate says she is delighted by the response to the Shrewsbury group and says they would also welcome new faces.

“It’s lovely seeing how much everybody enjoys it. It shows there was absolutely a need for it. We’ve got ladies from all over Shropshire including Telford, Church Stretton and Shrewsbury.

“I enjoy meeting new people – everybody is here for the same reason, they want to play football.

“I love the camaraderie. It can get quite competitive – these players don’t take any prisoners – and we cover a lot of ground. One of the ladies had a step tracker and she has walked just under a mile and a half during the hour.

“It’s adaptable too, everybody does what they can and there are no standards to reach. It’s about enjoying yourself, having fun, finding out you can kick a ball and that you can get better.

“Hopefully we can build the club up. We would definitely welcome more players – the more the merrier. If anyone like to join us, they can just turn up on a Wednesday morning at 10.30am or contact Emma Wilde at Age UK,” says Kate.

Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin also offers a men’s walking football group, which meets at 10am every Thursday at Monkmoor Recreation Ground.

For more information about the groups, call 01743 233 123 or email [email protected]