Cn the evening of October, around fifteen of them set foot on the lawn of the Dalmasso stadium, within the grounds of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. Women and men aged 30 to 67 pass a football between them. They don’t run, they walk. On the pitch, there are not eleven players but five. The session, led by Matthieu Benadon, walking football instructor at the Parisian club Pitrey Ollier (PO), begins with warm-ups. Then matches follow one another on smaller fields.
“Walking football” was created in 2011 in England to help seniors stay active. In this other version of the king sport, the rules are different. No running – under penalty of conceding a free kick –, no tackles or close physical contact. “We can’t dribble, it’s all about passing and moving players to deceive the opponent”explains Matthieu Benadon. “Everyone is there, those who have good technique, and those who just want to hit the ball for pleasure and their health”continues the coach.
Now aged 63, Alain, who played football for many years, says “no longer able to run, due to cardiorespiratory problems”. “This sport allows me to rediscover the fun sensations of classic football without taking hits and that feels good”rejoices Alain. Pascal comes with his wife, Angela, a former high-level player but who, due to a ruptured cruciate ligament, can no longer play football.
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At the origin of the PO’s walking football section, which has around fifteen members, Pierre de Rauglaudre discovered “walking football” in 2019, during a match in Derby (England). Conquered, this former business manager created, at the beginning of 2020, the French Football Association in Marchant of which he is president. Since then, he has traveled across France. “The association has around a hundred member clubs today, or around 1,500 practitioners in France”. Its objective: to create other clubs in order to continue to organize tournaments. “The core target is rather the 55-65 year olds, the age where we can have a tendency to let go, to no longer do sporting activities, and where we are afraid of getting injured,” underlines Pierre de Rauglaudre.
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If the scientific literature is not yet very well supported regarding the effects of this practice, “studies report a moderate intensity, sometimes strong, because you have to stay constantly moving”explains Mélanie Boithias, doctoral student at Jean-Monnet University in Saint-Etienne, who is working, as part of her thesis, on the physiological and psychological effects of walking football for people aged 60 to 80.
