Walking Football, Letchworth

Men and women of all ages and levels of fitness or ability are invited to come along to one of our Walking Football sessions to take part in a slower paced version of the beautiful game that brings significant benefits to mental health.

With a number of sessions currently being delivered each week, the great thing about Walking Football is that no experience is required and all abilities are welcome. The rules are exactly the same as normal football, however, you are not allowed to run or jog – strictly walking!

Walking Football offers a multitude of health benefits to older people:

Physical Health

Participants demonstrate improved cardiovascular output, mobility, balance and strength – whilst many report improved weight management. The lower impact version of the game also has a reduced incidence of injuries.

Mental Health 

Participants report significant improvements to psychological wellbeing and mental health. Physical exercise reduces stress, whilst the social connections reduce social isolation – both of which are significant challenges for our participants.

Walking Football gives an often isolated section of the community the chance to become involved in something they really enjoy, make new friends, form lasting relationships with like-minded people and generally improve their social circle and overall quality of life, often making them feel less isolated and more a part of the wider community.

As we get older, many of us struggle with our balance, strength, stamina, weight and worst of all confidence and self-esteem levels but walking football has the potential to make a significant impact in all these areas, building body strength, improving muscles, core stability and hopefully losing some of the weight usually gained during the ageing process. As well as being able to increase fitness levels, emotional health gets a great boost too for a person involved in walking football, not least self-confidence and self-esteem.