National Walking Football Event at Club Brugge
On Thursday 26th of October 2017, more than 80 people came together for Club Brugge’s first national Walking Football Festival.
The event took place in cooperation with the European Football for Development Network.
The Walking Football Festival consisted of a Walking Football seminar that took place in the morning, and a tournament in the afternoon. The event followed the purpose of raising awareness for the sport Walking Football and its opportunities to engage people being 55 years and older in an active lifestyle.
The Walking Football methodology was first carried out in the UK in 2001, and has since then expanded to inspire men and women. Throughout Europe, thousands of older men and women are no rediscovering the joys of football by playing football at a more leisurely pace. In addition to encouraging older individuals to get back into participating in sport, the social aspects of Walking Football sessions provide opportunities to socially engage and connect with peers in the community, effectively combating social isolation and addressing mental health issues.
Walking Football seminar in the Jan Breydelstadion
In order to further broaden this knowledge about Walking football, in the morning, participants were invited to take part in a Walking Football seminar at the Proximus-Lounge of the Jan Breydelstadion.
At the seminar, a Walking Football training manual was presented, which contains more than 70 practical training session plans.
Additionally, the participants joined a brainstorm session in which they had the opportunity to express their opinion regarding the development of Walking Football.
Next to that, the event gave the participants to discuss with Voetbal Vlaanderen about the future of Walking Football and possible developments within the recently new sport.
Club Brugge Legends win Walking Football Tournament in Garrincha
In the afternoon, the Walking Football Tournament was staged at the indoor arena Garrincha in Assebroek.
Overall, the tournament was attended by 12 teams from Belgium, including KAA Gent and KV Kortrijk and one Dutch Walking Football team.
The final was played by the Club Brugge Legends against K.V.V.E. Massemen. After an exciting match, the Club Brugge Legends were able to take the trophy home.
European Legends Programme
Club Brugge is next to 12 other EFDN clubs part of the European Legends programme, which was a Walking Football and Walking Sport initiative that was coordinated by EFDN and co-funded by the European Union through Erasmus Sport+ and its partners. All partners of the programme, coming from 7 different European countries, participated in a comprehensive initiative of Walking Football sessions. European Legends was delivered over a 24- month period.
Find now the EFDN European Legends Walking Football Practitioner’s Guide online.
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