THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER!

By Richard Irvine

The other week I was back in London.

And as per usual when I’m there, I try to catch up with my old mates over a pint and a packet of cheese and onion crisps.

(Of course, as the years have gone by, the pints have been replaced by glasses of wine and latterly by zero alcohol beer…sadly.)

During this last visit, I messaged my friend Steve* to see if he fancied a drink.

He happily agreed and told me he would meet me at the local after football training.

(Football training? I’m sorry…run that by me again).

Now, even though Steve is younger than me, he is still 60+ and by his own admission he has a pair of well-dodgy knees! So, the idea of him playing football, even 5-a-Side, just didn’t ring true.

It turns out that the football he was referring to was ‘Walking Football’.

A sport that I was totally unaware of (probably because I’ve lived abroad for the last 25 years) but it seems that Walking Football is seriously popular.

Having first started in 2010 in Chesterfield, the sport now has 60,000 registered players with 1,000 affiliated clubs across the UK.  And it’s expanded across the globe to over 80 countries (having bypassed where I live, obviously).

In fact it’s growing so fast that only last week the English FA issued a statement saying that they had reached an agreement with the English Walking Football Association to unify the game under a universal set of rules governed by the FA.

(I can only hope there’s a clause in this agreement that prohibits any involvement from a certain Gianni Infantino, but I digress…).

From a good cardiovascular workout to helping combat loneliness, the health benefits - both physical and mental - are proven and huge. There’s even a claim that playing the game will help defer the onset of dementia, although the data supporting this is still a little thin on the ground.

What is in no doubt is that this generation of the Third Age absolutely refuses to follow the accepted norms of ageing.

They won’t give up the things that make them happy.

Whether that’s fashion, travel, food, fine wines or sports. They’ll adapt, innovate and keep going (and spending) until the day they can’t.

Then - and only then - will they hang up their boots.

* Steve’s name has not been changed to save him embarrassment.

Richard is Co-founder and Creative Director at A3A