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07
Feb
'Walking football offers so many opportunities for older people'
Walking football is overlooked by many.
People see it as the retirement home of the beautiful game, where the elderly go when they’ve lost their ability.
Enter the Harrogate Strays.
A walking football club with teams for over 60s, 65s, and 70s, the Harrogate Strays are proving that age doesn’t define talent.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret last week, the over-70s manager, Derek Rowe, told us what walking football is all about:
I played 11-a-side football until I was 68. When I retired, a mate of mine kept telling me to get into walking football. I was apprehensive at first, but eventually gave it a go and was shocked. It’s a completely different mindset on how to play the game.
It’s a very tactical game rather than a fast-paced one. The skill comes in passing and moving. People often think, ‘Walking football? What’s that all about? You can’t even run for the ball.’ But isn’t the beautiful game about keeping the ball?
Walking football restricts players from running, but they may speed-walk – as long as one foot is always on the ground.
The rules are the same as standard football rules, except that players are allowed to tackle only from the front to avoid injury.
Derek, 73, was keen to emphasise that the sport is much more than just retirement football.
The manager said that a tactical mind is needed to know where to be at the right time to give the team the best chance of winning the ball.
He added that the desire to win doesn’t fade with age and that tournaments can sometimes get heated because of it.
His over-70s team competes in two different leagues, travelling all over the north of England to play.
And they have won their fair share, too.
Since 2024, Harrogate Strays’ over-70s team has won three separate competitions. They even have three players representing the England international side.
The club’s over-60s team has won two trophies since last year, and has one player representing England.
Clearly, the club breeds success.
Injuries
In competitive tournaments, teams will play five 24-minute games in a day. At any age, you have to be fit to be able to do that.
Derek said that most of the players in his team do a lot of cycling, running, walking or swimming to keep fit.
But, as with any sport, injuries can happen.
He said:
Injuries do happen, and it does take longer to get over one at our age. Some do get quite serious injuries. One or two have had cruciates [anterior cruciate ligament] – I had one at 70 and was out for a year. But it is something you can come back from.
In your 70s, possibly the easiest way to get injured is by being a goalkeeper.
Yet Derek said that his team has two 70-year-old keepers who are very capable and still dive like they were in their twenties.
“Goalkeepers are bred from a different egg,” he added. “There is increased risk of injury for them, but they pad up differently. We also moderate it in training so people aren’t blasting shots at them.”
'A huge mental health benefit'
It’s not just about winning trophies for the Harrogate Strays.
Alongside their competitive teams, they also have casual teams, where people just wanting to have a laugh can play.
Derek said that it can be a lifeline for a lot of older people:
Walking football forces people to communicate. Some players ordinarily wouldn’t say boo to a goose, but in a team, they open up and communicate. For some of these players, it’s the only thing they do.
Some of them have lost their partners or have no family. There is a huge mental health benefit from playing walking football.
A lack of facilities
The Harrogate Strays currently train on the 3G pitches at the Army College and at Rossett School on evenings.
But, for obvious reasons, they can’t access these facilities during the day, which is the best time for retirees to play sports.
Derek said it was “scandalous” that there are no publicly owned facilities available for people to play on.
He said:
We need an investment that recognises sport as a whole. Harrogate should provide an open facility for all age groups who want to use it. Not attaching it to a school or private enterprise, and not just for football – for all sports.
The manager mentioned that Knaresborough Town had invited them to use their proposed 3G pitch once built, saying that it would send local walking football “stratospheric”.
When Harrogate Strays first set up in 2023, it had 30 members. Now, it has 76. A permanent home just could be the catalyst for over 100.
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