Bishops Cleeve walking footballer and England over-75 international Mick Furie has described the growth of walking football as “absolutely fantastic”.
“I’m 76 and still playing competitive football at my age. It’s absolutely fantastic. We’ve got guys here that had heart attacks, they’ve had illness, they’ve had deaths in their family, and this is a godsend. We play recreational, but we also play competitive, so they get the competitive bit if they need it, but recreational means it’s like a social. We get guys coming, and they love it, because they’ve got nothing else in their lives. It’s the fastest-growing sport in the country right now.”
Furie has since had the pleasure of representing England over-75’s, gaining one cap so far.
“It’s quite amazing really. About 60 years ago, I was in line for playing for the England schoolboys. I got into the last 22, but didn’t make the last 16 to travel to Scotland for the game. So, how lucky am I, 60 years later, what happens? You play for your club, then you play county, then you play regional football, and then from the regional, they chose England as the national team.” Furie explained.
“So, I was lucky, I was chosen to play against Northern Ireland, and it’s the only cap I’ve got so far, I’m just hoping that I can add to it in the future.”
The 76-year-old offered words of encouragement to anyone of all ages thinking of joining in with the sport.
“I would say try it, because I know a lot of decent footballers who play proper football, who say, no, it’s not for me, it’s a waste of time. Try it, you’ll find it’s not as easy as people think it is. It’s a great sport!”
