Table of Contents
Key 2025-2026 Stats On Walking Football
Here are key 2025–2026 stats on walking football (also called walking soccer) from large player surveys, directly addressing high adherence and perceived benefits in social connections, fitness, and mental wellbeing.
Major 2025 Study (FA Walking Football Cup 2024 Survey)
A cross-sectional survey of 352 players (mean age 56, broad 33–81 range, 55% men / 44% women) at the 2024 England FA regional finals (published 2025 in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living):
• Perceived benefits (since starting walking football):
• Social connections: 82.6% reported improvements.
• Physical fitness: 78.0% reported improvements.
• Mental wellbeing: 73.8% reported improvements.
• Adherence / continuation: 99.7% intended to keep playing over the next year (93.2% “definitely,” 6.5% “likely”). 86.7% had already played for >1 year.
• Fitness impact: 77.6% said their overall physical activity increased (37.9% “significantly”); 75% met/exceeded UK guidelines of ≥150 min/week moderate activity (vs. 63% national average for similar ages).
• Mental wellbeing metrics (validated scales): Higher than national averages; lower stress and loneliness; 87.6% rated their mental health as good/very good.
Supporting 2024/25 Data (WFA National Survey)
The Walking Football Association’s 2024/25 survey (2,125 responses from >9,000 subscribers) showed almost unanimously positive feedback. Players repeatedly highlighted life-changing social camaraderie, continued football enjoyment into older age, physical benefits (especially for those with joint issues/injuries), and mental wellbeing gains. Typical quotes: “made lots of new friends,” “camaraderie… great for mental well being,” and “still being able to compete at 79.”
Additional Context from Recent Reviews
Smaller intervention studies (2025–2026) consistently report session adherence of 81–97% (dropout <15%), with benefits strongest when sessions exceed ~120 min/week.
These figures come from real player surveys (not general fitness apps) and show walking football as a highly sticky, socially beneficial activity for the 45+/50+
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Further Reading & Reference List for 2025-2026 Stats On Walking Football
1. Main 2025 Peer-Reviewed Study (352-player FA Cup survey)
Title: Understanding the walking football population: A cross-sectional survey of players at The FA Walking Football Cup 2024
Authors: Price AG et al.
Journal: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (2025)
open-access paper:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1744101/full
PMC version (identical):
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12827653/
2. Walking Football Association (WFA) National Player & Club Survey 2024/25
Title: The state of the game – Player and club survey 2024/25 (2,125 responses)
Publisher: Walking Football Association (The WFA)
Full PDF (direct download):
https://thewfa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/WFA-Survey-Results-2024.pdf
Landing page with summary:
https://thewfa.co.uk/2024-player-and-club-survey-the-state-of-the-game/
3. Supporting 2025 Scoping Review (covers adherence data from multiple smaller intervention studies)
Title: A Scoping Review of Physical and Functional Outcomes in Walking Football: Current Evidence and Future Directions
Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2025)
Full open-access paper:
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/10/1533
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Last update on 2026-04-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API. Walking Football Limited is also an Amazon Associate and earns a commission from qualifying purchases
Author: The Walking Football
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