Forest Walking Footballers Reach Final
This coming Sunday marks yet another massive weekend for the Walking Football teams of Nottingham Forest, both the men’s over 50’s and the women’s over 40s sides will compete for national honours at St George’s Park in the FA Walking Football Cup.
It’s especially prestigious for the women’s team as they were only formed in 2023 but have gone from strength-to-strength since their inception. As for the men, well, they are not only two-time national league champions, but have amassed a string of European trophies along the way.
Despite having penned a couple of pieces about the NFFC walking sides before I’d not had the opportunity to see them in action. So, last Wednesday I popped down to Basford United to look at the men’s and women’s sides in training. Having been nowhere near a football pitch for some years I was captivated as the low-lying mist hovered a few feet above the ground amid the glow of the floodlights during the warm ups. There was a plethora of familiar faces on show, many whom I’d been lucky enough to have played alongside a few decades ago.
Prior to the training session I caught up with Danny Boyes and Danielle Pritchard, Danny has been at the heart of all things NFFC walking for several years, whist Danielle is the Forest captain and an England international too! Danielle explained that qualification for the final’s day at SGP comprises of six regional winners, of which NFFC women are one. The ladies will face tough opposition from the likes of Bolton Arena, Newcastle Swifts, and Plymouth Argyle but have as good a chance as anyone, especially having three England internationals in their side. I asked Danielle why she entered the women’s walking game? “The footballing side of things is great, obviously, but it’s the outstanding level of commitment from the players, some travel from as far as Lincoln, Grimsby, and Milton Keynes; it’s not just a sport, it’s a community.”
After the relative warmth of our clubhouse chat, I ventured pitch side to watch the training matches in the cold. The application of skill, and more so, the ferocity and intensity hit me like a hammer; the men were taking no prisoners and the likes of Vinny Duffy, John Humphries, Pat Walsh, and Lee Farmery were as vociferous as they’d been thirty years ago. The ball pinged from player to player with precision and it was easy to see how they’d racked up so many trophies along the way, frightening when you still have the likes of Nigel Jemson to pick from this Sunday.
The women’s game wasn’t as cutthroat but certainly high intensity, the quality was there for all to see as they made great use of the width and played through the lines whenever possible. It was a real learning curve for myself as I began to understand the importance of getting into space prior to receiving the ball, remembering that running is not an option! A handful of the men’s over 60’s side also joined in which was great to see, including Danny Boyes himself.
Both Danielle and Danny gave me a fantastic insight, not only into the various men’s, and women’s NFFC teams, but to the importance of involvement for all. Reverting to our earlier conversations they both stressed the vital importance of welcoming newcomers at beginners’ level, whist progressing the elite players who strive to win in Europe and receive international honours. Danny referred to Colin Cooke at Nottingham Forest community Trust and how entering the walking game at this level is ideal for a person’s wellbeing and mental health.
I’m under no illusion that walking football is going to evolve year, on year and I’m all for it. Don’t take my word for it, Real Madrid now have a walking team and UEFA are increasing their involvement by the day. Forest has teams at over 40, 50, 60 and 70 years of age but still aren’t officially annexed by the club itself, something that Garry Birtles is a huge advocate of.
Fingers crossed, this time next week we’ll be celebrating a double victory in the FA Walking Cup for our men and women, perhaps discussing the winning goals by Danielle Pritchard, Nigel Jemson, Tracey Duxbury-Mead and Nige Beer?
Regardless of how it pans out there’s already a monumental success story to tell involving Lee Farmery, who’ll be stepping out for the Forest men’s side at St George’s Park. Remarkably, Farms, a former teammate of mine, has recovered from double ankle operations and is raring to go on Sunday. Take a minute to absorb this, if a footballer in his prime were to endure such adversity and pain, you’d forgive them for calling it a day, however it takes someone with the heart of a lion to fight back in his fifties and guide his side to a national final. This not only epitomises Lee, but it also encapsulates the spirit, and community of walking football!
*Article provided by Steve Corry (Nottingham Forest Correspondent).
*Main image @NottinghamWF the men & women’s team have both reached the finals of the FA Walking Football Cup.
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