Over the course of the 2023/24 season we will hear from a wide range of local people who have benefitted from Arsenal in the Community projects. Here we find out more about how walking football has helped Waruni get active again after cancer, make new friends and feel even closer to the club she loves.
- Project: Women’s Walking Football
- Established: 2022
- Weekly participants: 25-30
- Yearly participants: 550
- Available to: Women aged 40-plus
- Sessions: Wednesdays 10-11am at The Arsenal hub, Sundays 12.30-1.30pm at Skinners Academy
Our Women’s Walking Football project relaunched alongside our Men’s Walking Football project in July 2022. The focus of these sessions for women aged 40+ is not just on football, but on staying fit through low-impact exercise, making friends and having fun.
Since the relaunch we have seen numbers rise to a similar level as our men’s project, which has always been a long-term ambition for Arsenal in the Community. Our Women’s sessions run twice a week and the participants and coaches have created a welcoming environment for all ability levels.
Waruni, aged 43 and from north west London, tells us how the sessions have helped her…
“After the Lionesses victory at the Euros and becoming a fan of Arsenal Women, I was Googling women’s walking football in north London and came across sessions run by Arsenal in the Community. I had been searching for a team sport that I could be involved in again and jumped at the chance to play at The Arsenal Hub. As a lifelong Gooner I was excited to give it a go and see whether it would be a good fit.
“I was a bone cancer patient who had previously undergone chemotherapy and surgery to remove the primary tumour in my leg. Rehab had been quite long but I was finally in a position to get involved in sports again. Unfortunately I am unable to play contact sports anymore, so walking football was a good alternative for me to try. To this day stairs are my nemesis!
“I was very excited to take part in a football session again – I hadn’t played properly since primary school. Football wasn’t an option for girls in my high school so I focused on other ball games.
“Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and felt like I had a proper workout. For someone who dislikes the gym, I was delighted to find a new way to exercise. Walking football is certainly good for the mind, body and soul. I left feeling like I had found my new happy place.
“At the end of last season, Arsenal in the Community organised for all the groups involved to play on the Emirates pitch. It was a very surreal moment – one that I have taken and put on my updated bucket list. It is certainly a day I will never forget. Everyone involved had a fabulous time playing on a warm and sunny day in north London…
CONTINUE READING Waruni’s story: https://www.arsenal.com/community/stories/womens-walking-football-2024
Author: The Walking Football
You create the memories; we help you relive them forever!
