Walking footballers want to level playing field
Simon ThurlowWalking footballers who have waited decades to play the sport have said investment is needed to create a level playing field.
Players aged between 39 and 62 from across the North East said while local walking football provision for women was growing, they traveled long distances south to compete in the Super League, due to a lack of facilities to host matches.
Some of the women made it through regional trials and have their sights on playing for England.
Midfielder Clare Moss, from Cockermouth in Cumbria, said: "After bringing up the family and supporting them, this is my time to shine and make them proud."
The 51-year-old said since finding out about walking football nine months ago, she had competed in tournaments across the country.
"A highlight for me includes playing for Workington St Joseph's Women's Walking Football Club, at England's St George's Park in November, representing the North East at the regional finals," she said.
But players said travelling between two and seven hours to play southern teams in their backyards was expensive and put them at a disadvantage.
Simon ThurlowMoss studied football as part of a sports degree three decades ago and said there were not many opportunities to play in a women's team.
She said the social aspect was "phenomenal" and it was also a good way to stay fit.
Being one of the few walking football clubs in the North East dedicated to women, sometimes players also had to travel to other clubs to make up numbers each month, she added.
Moss will be part of the team to compete in the Super League Cup in May.
Lauri Chandler, 62, from Whitley Bay in North Tyneside, said after watching her boys play football and supporting them, she could now play and make them proud.
The Wansbeck Wanderers midfielder said: "I'd been playing a little every day in the local park but their was no provision for women in my area until recent years."
The mother-of-two said "like-minded" women had got together to pay for equipment themselves and travel long distances because there had been no pathway for them to progress.
Simon ThurlowSarah Lewis, 39, from Blackhall in County Durham, joined a women's walking training group in Middlesbrough four months ago to improve her health after a family history of heart conditions.
She said: "When I heard of walking football I thought it was perfect and gave it a go."
Lewis said it was difficult to find a local group for women that played regularly.
"Don't be fooled by the walking, it still pushes you and helps with agility," she added.
Simon ThurlowWalking Football Association (WFA) North East regional manager Janette Hynes said: "We have to travel more than 200 miles to play at clubs with better facilities."
The 60-year-old ex-professional footballer from Stokesley, near Middlesbrough, said she gave up working in animation for Hollywood film director Steven Spielberg to follow her football passion aged 24.
The left-winger had playedfor Middlesbrough Ladies and was a player and coach at Brentford and QPR, before turning professional at Fulham.
Hynes said after she put together a women's team to provide professional coaching, 30 women from across the region had made it through her North East trials to play in the WFA super league cup in May and could get scouted to play for England.
She added it was costing the team "hundreds of pounds" to travel and stay overnight and suitable venues needed to be found in the north to "break down barriers".
