Now the Whittlesea U3A (University of the Third Age) team that Fay helps organize has more than 25 men and women, most aged over 55, who train on Thursdays at the YMCA Leisure City fitness center in Epping, in Melbourne’s north.
In November, two Whittlesea U3A teams will compete in the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast.
Football Victoria, which oversees the program locally, lists 25 venues hosting walking football in the state, including in Bendigo, Beechworth and suburbs across Melbourne, with three more due to open soon.
Having a ball: Gerry Fay, Margaret Samuel and Mick Trim from the Whittlesea U3A Walking Football programme.Credit:Scott McNaughton
Ambi Thangavel, 73, drives from Broadmeadows to train and said she hadn’t played team sport since netball at school in the mid-1960s in Sri Lanka.
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Thangavel said that since she started walking football she was “feeling great not only physically, but mentally as well, and I have improved confidence”.
“On the day I play, I don’t feel tired, I can do more work at home, I can function more.”
Margaret Samuel, 73, of Bundoora, who lives with Parkinson’s disease, said walking football kept her feeling fit and energetic and was a social outlet.
“I am a people person and I enjoy meeting people from different nationalities,” she said.
Fay says players look forward to his club’s Thursday training and often go out for coffee and have made friends among the group.
He said that during the pandemic, when training was canceled for months at a time, “I was getting lots of emails from players saying ‘when can we start up again’.”
Walking football is big in the UK, where more than 1000 clubs have formed in the past 10 years, with names including the Bicester Fossils and Rothwell Old Boars. Famous soccer clubs such as Manchester City and Arsenal have walking football programs.
British Labor leader Keir Starmer meets walking football players in Liverpool, England, in July.Credit:Getty Images
On September 8, the Whittlesea U3A club will hold an RU OK? Day at Epping, focusing on seniors’ mental health.
The following day, many of the clubs will play in a social tournament at Keilor stadium to mark Women’s Health Week and hold clinics for new participants.
VicHealth chief executive Dr Sandro Demaio said Victorians sought ways to connect with their local community after a tough few years.
“Walking Football is a positive and inclusive initiative making it easier for more Victorians to get active and socially connect with others in their local community,” Demaio said.
To inquire about playing visit: www.footballvictoria.com.au/community/programs/walking-football
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