Fourth annual Illawarra tournament in Australia
A surge in the popularity of a low-impact sport is proving that age or ability doesn’t have to be a barrier to enjoying the physical, mental and social benefits of football, with a walking version of the game attracting hundreds to the Illawarra from across the state for an annual tournament.
It’s a situation that could quickly stop someone from participating in sport altogether, but when Debbie Hoyn injured her hip during a season of outdoor football, the long-time player didn’t have to lose the game she loved.
“It wasn’t getting better and I thought, ‘I still want to play, how do I get involved again?’” Debbie said.
“I thought I’d come back and do some walking football just to try and get a bit of my fitness back, and I loved it.
“The people are great and it’s just a fun way to stay involved, stay connected with people, stay healthy, and I’ve not gone back to outdoor running football.”
Football South Coast started offering the sport in 2017 and throughout the last decade it has continued to grow in popularity, with new and returning players often shocked by the opportunities and enjoyment associated with getting involved.
“What we say to people is ‘come and have a go’ and we have about a 90 per cent retention rate where they come and have a second go,” Football South Coast walking football coordinator Joe Seco said.
“The sport is very inclusive; we cater for everybody but we also keep the social side to the game but we also cater for the players with a higher quality of play.”
As the sport has grown in the Illawarra and right across the state it has also created a vast social community, giving people the opportunity to make new connections while also getting out and about and exercising.
“There’s a lot of physical benefits obviously from exercise but then there’s the mental side,” Joe said.
“Unfortunately as we get older we get lonely, so I think playing walking football is another great outlet for those people to create friendships.
“And we’ve had friendships developed; it’s not just playing on the field anymore, afterwards we go out and we have coffee together.”
