'How I became the Lionel Messi of walking football'

A 71-year-old walking footballer said he was in a "state of shock" after being crowned as the sport's world player of the year.

Spencer Pratten, from Great Waltham near Chelmsford, started playing walking football about 10 years ago and said it had changed his life.

The chartered surveyor used to play mainstream football semi-professionally for Chelmsford City FC and has even been likened to Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi.

He is due to receive his engraved trophy in the next few weeks from the international governing body, the Federation of International Walking Football Associations.

He is captain of Chelmsford City Walking Football Club.

Pratten also recently became captain of the England Walking Football over-60s team, and he won world cups for the national side in 2023 and 2025.

He said playing the game was like "being 15 years old" again.

"The camaraderie is second to none," he said.

"If I could invent a game, it would be walking football."

Of the comparisons to World Cup winner Messi, he told the BBC he did not mind "because I'm 5ft 6in and good on the ball".

He has worked as a surveyor for the past 45 years and is now semi-retired.

As men get older, Pratten said it was "too easy to stay at home; you have to keep things going and keep active".

Walking football is played by about 100,000 people in England.

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