Now him Whittlesea U3A (University of the Third Age) The team that Fay helps organize has more than 25 men and women, most of them over 55, who train on Thursdays at the YMCA Leisure City gym in Epping, north Melbourne.
In November, two Whittlesea U3A teams will compete in the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast.
Football Victoria, which oversees the program locally, lists 25 locations that host road soccer in the stateincluding in Bendigo, Beechworth and suburban Melbourne, with three more due to open soon.
Having Fun: Gerry Fay, Margaret Samuel and Mick Trim from the Whittlesea U3A Walking Football programme.Credit:scott mcnaughton
Ambi Thangavel, 73, drives from Broadmeadows to train and said she hadn’t played a team sport since netball at school in the mid-1960s in Sri Lanka.
Charging
Thangavel said that since he started walking in football he felt “good not only physically, but also mentally, and I have improved confidence”.
“The day I play, I don’t feel tired, I can do more work at home, I can function more.”
Margaret Samuel, 73, from Bundoora, who lives with Parkinson’s disease, said walking around playing football kept her fit and energized and was a social outlet.
“I am a sociable person and I enjoy meeting people of different nationalities,” he said.
Fay says the players look forward to their club’s Thursday training and often go out for coffee and have become friends amongst the group.
He said that during the pandemic, when training was canceled for months, “I was getting a lot of emails from players saying ‘when can we start again?'”
Road football is big in the UK, where more than 1,000 clubs have been formed in the last 10 years, with names including Bicester Fossils and Rothwell Old Boars. Famous football clubs like Manchester City and Arsenal have walking football programs.
British Labor leader Keir Starmer meets soccer players walking in Liverpool, England, in July.Credit:fake images
On September 8th, the Whittlesea U3A club will perform a RU OK? Day at Epping, focusing on the mental health of older people.
The next day, many of the clubs will play in a social tournament at Keilor Stadium to mark Women’s Health Week and hold clinics for new entrants.
VicHealth CEO Dr. Sandro Demaio said Victorians were looking for ways to connect with their local community after a difficult few years.
“Walking Football is a positive and inclusive initiative that makes it easier for more Victorians to get active and connect socially with others in their local community,” said Demaio.
For information on how to play, visit: www.footballvictoria.com.au/community/programs/walking-football
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