Whatever the age, the importance of physical exercise is not news to anyone. What may be unknown to most is that there is a variant of football for people over 50 years old – the walking football, or football to walk. The modality appeared in 2011, in England, for those who wanted to continue playing, but no longer felt the same agility.
In 2017, it arrived in Portugal through the Benfica Foundation, which invited RUTIS – Senior Universities Network to join the project, which has the support of the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth. The chain’s president, Luís Jacob, tells Expresso that, right from the start, he considered it to be an “excellent idea”, expecting “great receptivity from the universities”.
The official lists “four major attractions” that justify the “great success” it has been. Since “our seniors have very low levels of physical activity”, this was an “opportunity to get them to do sports”. Furthermore, football is a sport that “everybody knows”. Then there is the “very large component of the social part, of the tournaments, of the gatherings, of interactivity between the team itself and with other teams”. “And another important factor is wearing the jersey, that is, we have a kit, a team and we pull for the same team”, concludes Luís Jacob.
But before implementation in Portugal, some adaptations were necessary. The original English model was “developed for former players”, which was not the objective in Portugal, hence a “lightening of the rules” and the inclusion of women – here, teams are mostly mixed. Contrary to what happens in England, there are no goalkeepers, “any type of contact between players” is prohibited and the ball “does not rise above the waist, so there are no jumps or headers”. “We removed as much as possible what could cause injuries to athletes”, summarizes Luís Jacob.
Games last 15 minutes, each group on the field has six players and there is no limit on substitutions. The 30 teams from the north to the south of the country and also from the islands – covering a total of 500 to 600 athletes – sign up for the tournaments they want, where “four, five games are usually held, that is, despite being only 15 minutes , it means that it takes an hour and a half”, indicates the president of RUTIS. “And despite the expression football on the move, this is tiring. It gets tiring because it’s a fast walk.”
Deconstruct what it means to be older
The final tournament, in which almost all teams usually participate, takes place in July at Estádio da Luz, a moment with a particular “impact” on the athletes due to the “emotional component”. “We see the grandson watching his grandmother play. The grandson is used to seeing his grandmother saying that his back hurts or on the sofa and suddenly he sees his grandmother, with a football kit, scoring a goal at Estádio da Luz”, says Luís Jacob. “There is a huge social deconstruction here of what it is to be older.”
Seeing so many women playing football “for the first time” is something that “gives a lot of satisfaction”. In the case of Ana Paula Angélico, 63 years old, practicing the modality is not something new. “I always really enjoyed playing soccer, even when I was younger,” she recalls. After being out of the country for 20 years, she returned already retired and felt that she had to “do something”. That’s how she joined the Senior Academy of Arts and Knowledge of Vila Nova de Santo André, where she plays walking football since the formation of the team four years ago.
Ana Paula points out that “on a physical level it is very good because the training sessions are intense, twice a week”. The practice “changes a lot with the physical condition of the person, above all what improves a lot is coordination and balance, something that is extremely important in more advanced ages, and also improves cardiovascular indices”, corroborates Luís Jacob.
Conviviality and inclusion
The most important thing is conviviality. “It’s all being together, when there are tournaments, people from other places, the hugs, it’s very beautiful”, highlights Ana Paula, who is even injured at the moment, but continues to go with the team “everywhere” to support .
Luís Jacob considers that this “great social aspect” is the “base of everything”. “It’s the fact of going to training, playing with other people, leaving home, socializing”, he lists. Furthermore, it is a game that “is for everyone”. “There’s no excuse for saying ‘I’m not good’, ‘I’m fat’ or ‘I can’t because I’m slower’. It is a totally inclusive sport, not only in gender, but also in the skills that the person has.”
And the temptation to start running? “It’s difficult because if the ball hits our feet, we don’t run, but if the ball goes a little further forward, the tendency is to run straight away. But with time we get used to it”, guarantees Ana Paula. Armando Jorge Domingues, sports director of the Association of Residents of Portela, where he also practices walking football, says he is already “used to it”. “I think I’ve managed to reverse the chip. As I usually say, my heart also ends up commanding this tendency not to run.”
Armando refers to the “double heart attack” he suffered, after which he saw the modality as a “good solution”. “Despite having a conditioned heart, it’s something that makes me feel much better physically”, says the 57-year-old coach. “In terms of conviviality, it is always spectacular. Even though everything is done walking, it gives you a lot of energy, good mood and happiness”, he stresses. The benefits are felt in the “balance of physical health in general, mental health and well-being”.
For Armando, it is worth highlighting the relationship that is established between people in their 50s and others over 70 – and he has even played with a 92-year-old athlete. “It is important to look at that person who wants to go inside. It always gives us great pleasure to be playing with teams where we see much older people.”
Modality “has been growing”
The first World Cup is scheduled for 2023, taking place in England. O walking football “it has clearly been growing”, including with “some changes”, indicates Luís Jacob. “Some teams already make age groups, from 50 to 60 and over 60, and teams only of men and only of women. This has been the evolution that has taken place at a European level.”
With regard to Portugal, the covid-19 pandemic had a “terrible” impact, forcing it to stop completely, but 2022 has been one of recovery. It is also the year that the country has a national team represented in European tournaments, something “extremely gratifying”. “It’s been very interesting because we’ve given people in their 60s and 70s the opportunity to wear the national jersey and represent Portugal”, highlights the president of RUTIS.
The main objectives are to increase the number of practitioners and work to “attract another type of teams”, in addition to senior universities. Now that the project “is consolidated”, it is important that “everyone realizes the added value of practicing walking football and prove that sport is for everyone”.
