In July 2022, the Community Trust launched women’s walking football sessions after a successful trial period.
Almost half a year later, Keith Jackson gave an update on how the sessions have been going.
Speaking exclusively to 1866 Sport, he said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic. I’ve been to one of the sessions, ended up in goal and conceded three! It’s great. The women have really progressed from when they started.
“They were completely new to football, so actually watching them play and seeing the decision making and the quality that they are showing is a real marked improvement.
“It’s still absolutely welcoming to beginners and people that have tried it for the first time. It really focuses on that social element of football and what football can do.
“It’s still a fairly new project to us but there are over 20 women now that are part of the group that come down and play football.
“Obviously, the Lionesses’ success projected women’s football forward again, and the success of our women’s set-up shows an upward trajectory for women’s football. We just wanted to make sure that we can provide somewhere that everybody gets to play football.”
The sessions have been a big hit with numbers continuing to increase and have seen the participants also attend first-team fixtures.
Keith spoke about the physical and mental effects that the sessions have had on the ladies, saying: “Naturally when you think about football, it’s physical health, fitness, and wellbeing.
“But also, I think that mental wellbeing and social aspect of women’s walking football is important.
“These ladies have now come to Chesterfield fixtures. If you think about them as people that are new to football, they have found friends that they can then sit next to at games.
“All of those things have been embedded because of this project and it’s really important to us as a Trust that we are at the forefront of making sure that everyone feels welcome and included.”
Sessions are every Thursday for women aged 40+ at Outwood Academy Newbold and cost £4 per session (cash only).
Keith gave an explanation as to why you should consider joining in every week.
He said: “I would say absolutely come down and join in. You will be well looked after. You will make friends.
“Everybody has a laugh so don’t worry if your first time and you’ve never kicked a ball before – everybody has fun.
“It’s just about going down, getting active, having fun, trying out football for the first time and then hopefully enjoying it and coming back.”
If you would like more information about the session, please email alyssjackson@spireitestrust.org.uk
