Walking football sessions
Taking it at your own pace
Take your first steps into the world of walking football with one of hundreds of walking football sessions taking place daily throughout the UK.
Walking football sessions, sometimes referred to as leisure or fitness sessions, provide a low pressure, highly enjoyable introduction to this increasingly popular sport.
Sessions are usually supported by a local organisation such as a county council, business or charity and delivered by sports clubs, professional football coaches or community volunteers.
Walking football sessions are also frequently organised by clubs looking to offer more people the opportunity to play in a non-competitive environment.
At Walking Football World, you’ll find the most comprehensive directory of walking football sessions online, containing everything you need to know to make an informed choice before you play.
Who are walking football sessions for?
There’s a walking football session for everyone across England, Scotland and Wales, but it’s true that you’ll find some variation in rules and age restrictions between individual events. All of our session listings contain a full breakdown of these differences, but below is a quick overview of what you can generally expect when you turn up.
Walking football sessions
What walking football sessions are
- Friendly and welcoming introduction to walking football
- Low pressure games with an emphasis on enjoyment
- Little to no long-term commitment required
- Respect, encouragement and support from peers
Walking football sessions
What walking football sessions are not
- Dangerous and aggressive tackling
- Win at all costs attitudes
- Prejudices and patronising behaviour
- Cliques, in-groups and partisanship
How to choose a walking football session
Whatever your age or circumstances, there is always something daunting about trying something new. Whether it’s a job, a relationship or a sport, it’s natural to be anxious about the unknown that lies ahead.
We understand that many of those looking to get involved with walking football for the first time experience similar anxiety about their own competence to play and acceptance from a group.
It is therefore especially important that you feel both comfortable with your choice of walking football session and confident enough to enjoy it before you arrive.
If you’ve been left frustrated by the lack of detail available about walking football sessions on other websites, you’ll love the lengths we’ve gone to in our session listings. Simply follow the three steps below to find one that’s right for you in minutes.
How to choose a walking football session
1. Search for a session
Our index of walking football sessions is one of the biggest and most detailed online. We’re the only place that allows you to easily filter every session near you in just a couple of clicks.
Click the button below to begin your search on our interactive map. When you get there, select your location from the first dropdown box and ‘Walking Football Sessions’ from the second. The map will automatically pull through sessions closest to your home.
How to choose a walking football session
2. Browse the listings, make a choice
Our session listings feature much more than a simple date and phone number, we’ve broken them down to provide information on everything from pitch type and age limit, to playing level and game formats.
So, if you’re a beginner looking to play five-a-side on an astroturf pitch on Tuesday evenings, we let you filter our list based on exactly those requirements. Scroll down for a full explanation of every listing detail or click below to see for yourself on a real session listing now.
How to choose a walking football session
3. Get in touch, turn up and play!
Now you’ve searched our index and compared the walking football sessions based on your specific preferences. How do you take things further and actually start playing?
It’s simple. Every session listing on Walking Football World includes the full contact details of the session organiser, as well as a quick enquiry form on the right hand side. Use these to speak directly to the right person, ask questions and plan your debut!
Understanding session listings
It can be hard to make a decision, especially when you have only a limited idea about the factors upon which the decision should be made.
We’ve worked hard to give you all the information you need to choose where to play walking football. On each session listing page, you’ll find a breakdown of specifications at the top and features at the bottom.
Here’s a full summary of what each means.
Attributes
Session attributes are the hard facts about walking football sessions themselves, providing easy-to-digest snapshots of key features and playing requirements.
In total, we consider 10 different attributes for each session on our website. These have been submitted and verified by session organisers to be as accurate as possible when you view them.
Attributes
Year founded
We’ll start with an easy one. The year a walking football session was founded can help to give you some confidence in its quality. Would a session have been running for two years if nobody enjoyed it? Reach out to existing players for recommendations.
Attributes
Session type
So you’ve found a session that suits you and want to try it out. Our session type attribute defines each session as ‘Just turn up’, ‘Call ahead’ or ‘Booking required’, depending on what’s needed before playing. Contact details can be found on every listing.
Attributes
Playing level
One of the best things about walking football is that you don’t have to have played football before to enjoy it. We’ve labelled sessions as either ‘Beginner’, ‘Confident’ or ‘Mixed’ to define the level and standard of football you can generally expect.
Attributes
Game format
Sessions with fewer players may run smaller-sided games, with five-a-side matches commonplace. Those with a larger turnout may to run multiple smaller games or use larger teams on bigger pitches. Turnout at sessions can fluctuate so the format listed should be viewed as a guide only.
Attributes
Pitch type
The surface you play on affects the roll of the ball, your exposure to the weather and the impact on your joints. Harder surfaces such as concrete and sports halls are typically harsher on feet, ankles and knees than softer pitches such as grass or artificially 3G turf.
Attributes
Age limit
Walking football can be enjoyed by people of all ages and circumstances, but it is common to see some sessions restricted by minimum ages to ensure a relatively level playing field. Age limits can be flexible so be sure to check with a session organiser first if you fall just outside of the listed range.
Attributes
Genders
Walking football is not only the fastest growing sport in the UK, it’s also one of the most inclusive. Keep a look out for gender-orientated sessions to suit you, from ‘Men Only’ and ‘Women Only’, to ‘Mixed’ sessions for everyone.
Attributes
Plays competitions
Although generally social occassions, many organised walking football sessions regularly enter teams into festivals and competitions. We’ve identified those that do on listing pages.
Attributes
Plays friendlies
Test your skills against outside opposition by joining a walking football group which plays regularly friendly matches. Or, are you a team looking for a match? Reach out to session organisers direct from listings.
Playing rules
Our session listings also include an overview of certain rules that players are expected to abide by in the interests of safety and fairness. You will see all or some of the below listed on any session page.
Rules
Competitiveness
Walking football is one of the few sports where the phrase, “It’s the taking part that counts”, is actually true. However, if you do want to play to win, keep a look out for sessions marked ‘Competitive’ at the foot of a page.
Rules
Level of contact
While football is typically a contact sport, the slower pace of walking football and the older age of players lends itself to gentler levels of physicality. Many sessions are almost entirely ‘non-contact’ to minimise the risk of injury.
Attributes
Ball size
The most commonly used ball size for adult games is size five, however it is not unusual to see size four used, especially for sessions hosted indoors. The difference is negligible, but noticeable, for the most pedantic of players!
Rules
Number of touches
Walking football is one of the few sports where the phrase, “It’s the taking part that counts”, is actually true. However, if you do want to play to win, keep a look out for sessions marked ‘Competitive’ at the foot of a page.
Rules
Restart method
Throw-in or kick-in? Every footballer has a preference, but often the decision is at the mercy of the environment. Some indoor sessions, or those on smaller astroturf pitches, may even allow the use of walls as an extra player.
Rules
Score from anywhere
The faster pace and smaller pitches of five-a-side walking football often requires shots to be restricted to outside of the box only. This helps to prevent scores from running into double-digits and protects goalkeepers from injury.
Rules
Head height
Many walking football sessions impose a ‘below head height’ rule to keep the ball on the floor and eliminate the need for headers. Many older and more vulnerable players find this rule preferable to its ‘above head height’ opposite.
Rules
Rule book
The English FA only published its official rules for walking football in early 2017. A session may choose to adopt these, use the Walking Football Association variant, or simply set their own rules based on a mixture of both.
Top walking football sessions
Each month, we choose two sessions from throughout the UK to showcase below. These sessions could be the most popular with Walking Football World visitors or do something that makes them stand out from the crowd.
If you’d like to see your session featured here, get in touch and let us know what makes your event different. Please note that the top walking football sessions below are not paid-for adverts and we do not accept payment for placements in this section.
Featured sessions
Promote your walking football session to the masses with a featured spot, available as a paid add-on to our free listing package.
For a small fee, you’ll get increased exposure to thousands of extra visitors. It will always be completely free to display your listings on Walking Football World. Featured spaces simply allow you to give your free listing a small boost.
Session FAQs
Still got a question about walking football sessions? We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions below to help clarify the most common issues. Remember, if you have a question related to a specific session, don’t be afraid to contact the organiser listing on its session page to ask directly.
No, it doesn’t. Although they share the same name, it’s better to think of football and walking football as cousins instead of siblings. The slower pace and focus on enjoyment, not results, makes walking football welcoming and accessible to players of all abilities and experience.
This is not the Premier League. There is absolutely no obligation for players to spend money on expensive new clothing and footwear to join a walking football session. We recommend that you simply wear comfortable sportswear and shoes suited to the playing surface. See individual session listings for more details.
Yes, of course. It is very common for friends or relatives of a potential player to make first contact with a walking football session. Session organisers are always happy to assist with any concerns and can often provide invaluable guidance for those starting out in the sport.
It is not uncommon for a first aid trained person to be present at a walking football session, but this is by no means a certainty. If you are concerned about any health or safety issue, be sure to raise this with the session organiser as soon as possible. Walking football is generally a very safe and enjoyable sport.