Walking football is on the rise at Hungerford Town

Hungerford Town Football Club’s Walking Football team are going from strength to strength.

They faced Lambourn in a derby last week, coming out 5-1 winners in an excellent display.

Goals from Mark Carolan, Roger Titford and a hat-trick from Adam Wilks built a lead, before Lambourn replied through a Dave Summers penalty.

Captain Dave Allen spoke to us about the sport’s rules and benefits, as well as how people can get involved and give the game a go.

“It’s very minimal contact. No tackling from behind or from the side”, said Allen, captain of the side since its inception two years ago.

“The ball can’t go above head height. It’s all to minimise any risk of injury.

“It’s aimed at the over 50s, but it’s a team made up of all ages and abilities.

“We’ve had a 78-year-old play with us. An opponent had an 82-year-old. We cater to everyone!”

Invented in 2011, the game has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Allen outlined the benefits his side have experienced.

“It improves your fitness. People have said they feel a lot fitter from doing this.

“But there’s the social side as well.

“You’re out of the house, mixing with other people.

“And you’ve still got the banter that was there when we played in our 20s.”

Supported by the club itself, the side are looking to enter more formal competitions in the future, having recently established a women’s side which is growing steadily.

“There are two leagues that we could feasibly join, Berkshire or Wiltshire”, he said.

“It would mean giving up every third Sunday, but at the moment we’re more social.

“We’ve had friendlies, we’ve hosted our own tournament, when Oxford United came along.

“A lot of us still have that competitive edge, so it's good to test ourselves!”

On top of this, the side have a surprising kit sponsorship, with Carling adorning the front of their shirts. So how did that come about?

“We struck lucky! One of the guys entered their competition.

“The prize was home and away kits, equipment, training kit.

“And he won. So we look the part!”

So if people want to get involved, where should they go?

“The men’s side train every Monday night, 7-8pm on the John O'Gaunt artificial pitch. People should contact Dave on oldcasual@icloud.com.

The women’s team train every Thursday night at Hungerford Youth Centre, 7-8pm. Those interested should contact Martin on Martin.brailli@btinternet.com.”