Community Walking Football programme a huge success
Carlisle United’s Walking Football Programme has been up and running since November 2014 with over-50’s coming together once a week to play football, socialise and, most importantly, to have fun.Martin Kennedy from Age UK said: “It’s a very important activity. We followed national guidelines in terms of setting things up, when we first started the initiative, because it isn’t just about the physical side of the event.
“The focus is very much on the social and well-being side of things as well because we find that people who take part in activities like this feel much better in themselves on a daily basis. We have people who used to play football regularly who come along, and they team up with people who have no football background at all.
“This group at Carlisle United has developed into a very good social group whose members really look after each other, and they genuinely look forward to seeing each other.”
Community Sports Trust Manager John Halpin said: “We worked closely with Age UK to get the group up and running and we are delighted with how it has gone over the last 18 months or so.
“We said all along that it isn’t just about the football. It’s an opportunity for people to get out of the house and take part in something which really does make them feel better, mentally and physically. We meet every week as a group and we’ve taken part in competitions with Walking Football teams from around the region and the rest of the country.
“In terms of what we set out to achieve, we’ve more than done that. This is now a very important community activity for people of the older age group, and I know they appreciate the fact that it’s there and available for them to come to.”
The Walking Football programme runs from 2pm to 3pm every Tuesday in the Neil Sports Centre here at Brunton Park.
For more information on the Carlisle United Walking Football sessions please contact the CUFC Community Sports Trust on 01228 554 169 or by email at fitc@carlisleunited.co.uk
Alternatively contact Age UK Carlisle & Eden on 01228 536 673 or by email at admin@ageukcarlisleandeden.org.uk
