‘I love the camaraderie of walking football’
David Wilde, 65, lives in Oldham and is part of the Manchester Corinthians over-60s walking football team
If you can’t play regular football, walking football is the next best thing. It’s non-contact, you’re walking, and you can’t kick the ball over head height, so it’s a sport you can play right into your 70s. I still play regular football on the side, but I know there will come a time when I will be too old to play. When that happens, I’ll still be able to play in my six-a-side over-60s walking football team.
Whether you play regular or walking football, it’s just about getting together with a group of lads and playing a sport you love. It takes me back to my youth – being in the changing rooms, having fun and telling jokes with each other, like you used to do back in the day. The only difference now is, when you get changed, you’re showing each other the scars from your heart operation!
I love the camaraderie of
walking football. You get that bond together as teammates, where you’re not only fighting for each other on the pitch, but you’re friends off the field as well. Since Covid, we’ve been meeting up in small groups – or pairs, in lockdown – and going on walks.
I took early retirement at the age of 56 from my job as an aircraft fitter. I knew I was going to be all right
– I’m quite active and I enjoy cycling, walking and going to the gym. But not everybody is like that. I’ve talked to lads on the team who, before joining football, would sit at home, feeling depressed, not knowing what to do with themselves. They got sick of watching TV and decided to join the walking football club – and they’ve never looked back.
Walking football is two-tiered. You get guys of a certain age who just turn up for a game of football, and then you get other guys, like me, who want it to be a bit more competitive. I want to push myself as far as I can, which is why I joined the Manchester Corinthians three years ago, as it’s a more competitive club.
There’s a proper league structure and we play in tournaments all around the country – and even abroad. In February 2019, we played in Spain. It was fantastic and just goes to show that walking football can open a lot of doors.
‘It’s about getting together with the lads and playing a sport you love’