Walking football is a popular and growing format, of the game of football, among more senior adults who are able to continue to play this slower version of football. For this reason, I decided to find out more about this new format of the game and to provide information for anyone interested in playing walking football.
Walking football is a slower-paced variant of the traditional team sports game that is played at a walking pace whilst the rules of the game do not permit any running amongst its participants, with or without the ball, and can be played outdoors or indoors.
If you want to start to play this version of the beautiful game but don’t know where to begin, then this blog post will help you out by covering the following walking football topics:
- Can you run in walking football?
- What are the rules of walking football?
- Is walking football good for you?
- Who can play walking football?
- Is walking football a sport?
What are the rules of walking football?
A walking football team is typically made up of five but can be played with 6 or 7 players with the rules of walking football very similar to the traditional game of football.
However, there are a few key differences that make the sport more accessible and safer for older adults.
These include:
- A goal cannot be scored directly from any free-kicks (all types of free-kick awarded are indirect)
- A maximum height restriction of no more than 2 metres and no less than the size of the crossbar is implemented
- An indirect free-kick will be given against any player who jogs or runs during the game irrespective of whether they are in possession or interfering with play or not
- Rolling substitutions (maximum of 3 subs)
- Roll in (underarm) or kick-ins when the ball goes out of play, no throw-ins
- The penalty area is a semi-circle
Size of walking football pitch
The playing area should be rectangular, and its length must exceed that of the goal line. For 5-a side or 6 player teams, we recommend dimensions like those shown below so there is enough space to play freely with very little contact.
Is walking football good for you?
Walking football offers a variety of health benefits from playing the beautiful game of football, even at a walking pace!
Since walking football is a relatively low-intensity physical activity, this makes it a good option for older people to stay active each week and get back to playing football by doing something fun.
In general, it is alleged that playing walking football, as part of an active lifestyle, will promote physical, social, and mental health benefits such as:
- Reducing cardiovascular disease
- Lowering blood pressure
- Reducing levels of stress
- Forming new friendships
London Sport stated that participants consistently self-reported an improvement to physical wellbeing, improvement in mental health and it was evident from the quantitative analysis that the social benefits of playing walking football were positively significant.
Who can play walking football?
To play football, generally, players are under 36 years old (with some exceptions to this rule). However, to play walking football the age group is far more diverse with the average age being 58.
So anyone of any age who can walk and has the mobility to kick a ball can play.
This is because, as the name suggests, the game is played at a slower pace and therefore the game relies on reduced fitness levels and physical attributes, compared to normal 11-a-side football, making it accessible to anyone who wants to give it a go.
In fact, I have seen people in their 70s playing the sport and thoroughly enjoying themselves!
I met with a colleague, who plays walking football, and asked him why he plays the sport.
“I play because of both the fitness and social benefits. Approaching my senior years I cannot run as fast and also there is less impact on the joints”.
Stephen Lowe (walking football player)
Other questions that people ask, about walking football, which we will cover in the reminder of this blog post are:
- How many walking football clubs are there in the UK?
- How to join a walking football club
How many walking football clubs are there in the U.K?
There are roughly over 1ooo walking football sessions and clubs in the U.K which means there are many football opportunities, within this sport, for everyone.
How to join a walking football club
If you would like to find a club to play walking football, with friends or in a walking football league and tournaments, click here to go to The walking Football Association club directory and find a club near you.
After going to watch a walking football match as part of my research for this blog post, I realised that there are many benefits for people who play this slower pace game and I would encourage people, who are not able to run around a football pitch anymore, to try this version of the beautiful game.