WALKING FOOTBALL:

After winning the treble last year in their first season, Herne Bay Walking Football Club are a team who seem to be walking the walk and talking the talk. The 50-60 aged teams strolled to glory last year after becoming the 2016 national champions and following that up with being UK champions. They then defied the odds in the first season by completing an impressive treble by becoming champions of Europe. In Holland they played walking football Dutch teams, such as Ado Den Haag and Vittesse Arnhem. On their way to Euro glory, they scored 41 goals and only conceded four at the 13,500 capacity Polman Stadion home of Dutch team Heracles Almelo. Director of Herne Bay Bill Dordoy sees many benefits of walking football. He said: “I’ve lost a stone playing myself it keeps me fit. “I’m playing at 66 with the same friends I played with at 20. I’m enjoying it and it’s good for the club.” That ground-breaking season was just the start as the over 60s joined the over 50s team recently by going through to the next round of the WFU Nationals after winning in the Kent round against the Bay City Strollers, King Hill Strollers and Margate. Now the team are representing Gillingham in the finals of the EFL Trust Walking football cup finals on Saturday at Aston Villa’s training ground. There they will face teams like Blackburn Rovers, Bradford and Sheffield United, plus two-time champions Blackpool. Dordoy sees the team and the sport improving over the years. He said: “Eventually it will get stronger benefited by ex-footballers playing. “Some do it for fitness but I am sure more players will join teams and they will catch up to us. We are having many people want to join, though.” Herne Bay recently crowned Graham ‘Harry’ Roberts their player-of-the-season.