There are plenty of rules. One of the rules is even in the name of the sport – Walking Football. This implies that running is prohibited and, in fact, anything other than brisk walking is penalized. The trick is to keep one foot on the ground at all times.
The no-running rule is strictly enforced because this version of the most popular team sport in the world is “meant to be played with a reduced risk of injury by the older generation” and, therefore, has a minimum age of 50 for the men and 40 for the women. There is no maximum age limit.
Other rules include keeping the height of kicks lower than the crossbar of the goal, so nobody’s heading the ball or getting smacked in the face by a snappy shot. Most players also try to give their opponent some breathing room by staying approximately a meter apart.
Another and quite fundamental element of the game is that each player is limited to three touches before having to send the ball on as either a pass or a shot. The effect is that no single player can dominate by dribbling the ball from one end of the field to the other and that every player gets a good share of touches. And there is no offside rule when walking, which eliminates the most frustrating part (especially for fans) of the running game.
All these limitations don’t end up slowing the game down much. On the contrary, when ol’Pat recently attended a tournament at Browns in Vilamoura, I was a bit surprised by how fast-paced and lively the highly-competitive games were.
Most of these mature players were enthusiastic, active and engaged, and moving around at an energetic pace with nice powerful shots hitting the net or bouncing wildly off the goal post. I saw very little, if any, strolling. I also didn’t hear much screaming or shouting and no arguing with the referees. It was obvious the participants were there to have fun, experience team spirit and enjoy some healthy exercise in the warm Algarve sun … and maybe win a game or two, or even a trophy, all in a very sportsmanlike atmosphere.
CONTINUE reading at source: https://www.portugalresident.com/these-boots-are-made-for-walking-and-walkings-what-theyll-do
Author: The Walking Football
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